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I 



MEXICO'S 

TREASURE - HOUSE 'f^ 



MEXICO'S 

Treasure-House 

(GUANAJUATO) 

An Illustrated and Descriptive Account of 

The Mines and Their Operations 

in 1906 

BY 

PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S. 

Author of " Through Five Republics (of South America) 1 905 " ^^ 



' T AM not blind to the unison of opinion as 
^ expressed by scientists and experts that 
Mexico wiU one day furnish the gold, silver 
and copper of the world; that from her 
hidden vaults, her subterranean treasure 
houses, will come the gold, silver, copper 
and precious stones that will build the em- 
pires of to-morrow and make future cities 
of this world veritable New Jerusalems." 
— The late Cecil Rhodes. 



44 PAGES ILLUSTRATIONS 6 PANORAMIC VIEWS 

2 MAPS AND DIAGRAMS 



NEW YORK 

The CHELTENHAM Press 

MCMVI 






I LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

HOV 5 1906 

,, Copyright Entry 
CUSS ^AXXCNO. 



Copyright 1906 by 

Percy Folcke Martin 

of 6 Gray's Inn Square, W. C 

London, England 




Contents. 



^ft 



Preface . . . . 
Chapter I. 
II. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 
VIII. 
IX. 
X. 
XI. 
XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 



PAGE 

7-14 

Early Days in Guanajuato 15-32 

The State of Guanajuato 33-50 

The "Patio" Process 51-60 

Labor^ and Mexican Peons 61-71 

The Consolidated Mining & Milling Co 72-82 

The Reduction & Mines Co 83-99 

The Guanajuato Development Co. (I) .... 100-111 

The Guanajuato Development Co. (II). . • 112-126 

The Peregrina Mining & Milling Co. (I). 127-139 

The Peregrina Mining & Milling Co. (II) 140-152 

The Guanajuato Mineral Development Co. 153-162 
The Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines 

Co 163-176 

Some Mines with Promising Futures 177-200 

Guanajuato Power & Electric Co 201-210 

British Capital in Guanajuato 211-228 

Prominent Men of Guanajuato 229-252 

Conclusion. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.* 

PLATE. SUBJECT. FACING 

1. Panoramic view of the city of Guanajuato, 1906 Title 

FACING PAGE 

2. Mexico's output of silver from 1877-1905 13 

3. His Excellency General Porfirio Diaz, President of the 

Republic 21 

4. A typical street in the peon quarter of the city 29 

5. A peon standing at the door of his house 37 

6. The State Prison, known as "The Carcel" 45 

7. Market day in Guanajuato 51 

8. Church architecture in Guanajuato District 57 

9. The "Patio" process at Guanajuato 63 



*The Photographs published in this Volume have been principally taken for the work by 
Mr. Percy S. Cox, of Independencia, Mexico City, and are now given for tha first time. They are 
all Copyrighted. The Author is also much indebted to the courtesy of Mr. R. H. Burrows, of 
Guanajuato, for several of the photographs used. 



PLATE. SUBJECT. FACING PAGE 

10. Old style of hoisting: The horse- whim 69 

11. Quicksilver room in an old Patio mill 73 

12. General view of The Consolidated Mining & Milling Co. 

of Guanajuato • • • • '^^ 

13. General view of the Cyanide Plant belonging to The Con- 

solidated Mining & Milling Co 77 

14. Cyanide plant, office buildings and manager's residence 

of The Consolidated Mining & Milling Co 79 

15. A rich portion of the vein at the fifth level 81 

16. The vein showing a width of 163 feet from the fifth to 

the second levels. 

17. Table showing official gold output from 1824.-1891 85 

18. Boca Mina, at the Valenciana Mine (Reduction & Mines 

Co.) 89 

19. Precipitating plant (interior). Reduction & Mines Co.. . 93 

20. Precipitating plant (exterior). Reduction & Mines Co.. . 93 

2 1 . Offices and cyanide plant at Hacienda de Flores 97 

22. General view of the cyanide plant. Hacienda de Flores. . 103 

23. Entrance to the Pinguico Tunnel; belonging to The Gua- 

najuato Development Co 107 

24. General shaft of El Cedro Mine, belonging to the Gua- 

najuato Development Co Ill 

25. Claims belonging to the Central Group of Mines; The 

Guanajuato Development Co 115 

26. General view of the Central Mine, belonging to the Gua- 

najuato Development Co 119 

27. The Nayal Custom Mill, adjoining the Central Mines; 

property of Messrs. McElhiney & Bryant 123 

28. Site of the new St. Matias Mill, owned by Mr. Frank G. 

Peck 127 

29. The Bryant Dam at the Peregrina Mine, which is now 

completed 131 

30. The Barreno shaft of the Peregrina Mine 135 

31. Peregrina 20-stamp mill and foundation of 100-stamp 

mill, the Peregrina Mining & Milling Co 139 

32. House on the San Isidro Ranch, belonging to The Guana- 

juato Development Co 145 

33. Stream feeding the new reservoir during the dry season 149 

34. American oak timber on the San Isidro Ranch 153 

35. Basin to be submerged behind dam, San Isidro Ranch. . 157 

36. Shaft and electric hoist at the Nueva Luz Mine I6I 

37. La Torre Mines, which, with the Nueva Luz, are the 

property of the Mineral Development Co 165 

38. Jesus Maria Mine, La Luz, property of the Amalgamated 

Gold Mines Co 169 



PLATE. SUBJECT. FACING PAGE 

39. Dumps on the Jesus Maria Mine^ La Luz 173 

40. Map of the Guanajuato Mining District^ showing the 

system of veins 179 

41. The San Cayetano Mine, property of The United Mex- 

ican Mining Co 183 

42. Panoramic view of the town La Luz, of the Guanajuato 

District 189 

43. Yard of the Refugio Mine, La Luz District, the property 

of The Guanajuato Development Co 197 

44. The El Cubo Mine, near Guanajuato 205 

45. The Guanajuato Power & Electric Co., view of Com- 

pany's substation at Guanajuato 209 

46. The Guanajuato Power & Electric Co., interior of sub- 

station 215 

47. Mexico's output of gold, 1877-1905 223 

48. Map of the Guanajuato Mining District, showing the 

districts and areas 229 

49. His Excellency the Governor of the Guanajuato State. . 236 



PREFACE. 

"Know thy opportunity." 

PiTTACUS. 

WORKS UPON MEXICO, although not 
numerous, have, of late years at least, been 
readily procurable; but for the most part 
they have dealt with the past history of the Republic, 
relating to its early troubles and ignoring the present 
and future greatness of this remarkable country. 

In regard to Mexico's principal asset, viz : its mines, I 
can but repeat the words of the poet Byron, that "the 
best of prophets of the future, is the past"; and if only 
what has been will be again the mineral wealth of all the 
rest of the world will have to stand the test of keen 
comparison, and must be prepared to meet with a shock 
of surprise. 

A temporary visit to the Guanajuato district, where 
a great revival of interest among the mines has set in, 
convinced me that were the investing public of the Uni- 
ted States and Great Britain to know something more 
than they do about this very remarkable mineral camp, it 
must prove of infinite benefit to them and of material 
advantage to Guanajuato itself. 

Thus, in my travels through Mexico for the purpose 
of collecting materials for a book on the v/hole of the 
Republic — which is to be published towards the middle 
of next year — I found it expedient to tarry awhile in 

Page 7 



8 Meccico^s Treasure-House 

Guanajuato, and there to study the conditions and 
prospects of a district which I always believed, and now 
know, will one day not far distant rival the famous Rand 
itself, and prove to be an important apartment in that 
"treasure-house" from which will come the gold, silver, 
copper and precious stones "that will build the empire 
of to-morrow, and make future cities of this world veri- 
table Jerusalems," which were the words in which the 
late Cecil Rhodes once described Mexico. 

"Civilizing by syndicate" is not a bad method to 
adopt, provided the members of such "syndicate" are 
men of honor as well as enterprise, and both remember 
and observe the conditions under which this kind of 
civilization should be conducted, — that is to say, so 
as to benefit the country generally as well as to enrich 
themselves. The Anglo-Saxon races have already 
"cornered," if I may adopt sUch a term, four-fifths of 
the gold-producing mines of the world, and it is, there- 
fore, eminently fit that the magnificent mineral interests 
of Mexico should be likewise mainly in their hands. But 
for British capital in the first instance and more from 
America in the second, probably the mineral riches of 
Mexico might have lain dormant or but imperfectly 
developed for many years, neither the Spanish pioneers 
nor the Mexican proprietors having had the means or 
the scientific knowledge to work the mines beyond a cer- 
tain point. Foreign capital and foreign brains have, 
however, joined together to some purpose, and the con- 
sequence of this combination must be as beneficial to 
Mexico and to the Mexicans as to the enterprising finan- 
ciers who have come forward at the psychological 
moment to help in the country's development. 



Guanajuato's Future 9 

The Guanajuato gold and silver mines differ from 
most other mines of the world inasmuch as there is ab- 
solutely nothing conjectural nor problematical about 
them. For close upon four hundred years they have 
been not only known but actively worked, and they have 
from first to last contributed about three-fifths of the 
total amount of the world's supply of silver. "Imag- 
ination rules the world," as Napoleon once declared; 
there is, however, no sort of imagination about this state- 
ment. 

In this unpretentious volume I have attempted, to 
the best of my ability, to provide some description of an 
exceptionally promising mining district, and before all 
the good things in it have been appropriated. It is not 
unusual to proclaim the virtues of an individual after 
his death, ignoring all his abilities and attributes while 
he is still preserved among'^us. Much about the same 
kind of policy is adopted with regard to profitable com- 
mercial enterprises, which are not infrequently intro- 
duced to public notice after the cream has been licked 
oif by favored insiders. 

Probably this might have been the case with the 
Guanajuato gold and silver mines, but for the fortunate 
circumstance which brought me here and which has en- 
abled me to learn something of the district which is 
destined shortly to astonish the investing world under 
the new regime of improved treatment and scientific 
development through which it is passing. I honestly 
believe that Guanajuato is destined to take first rank 
among the gold and silver camps of the world, and it is 
because of this conviction that I desire Anglo-Saxon in- 
vestors, who have followed my writings for some twenty 



10 Mexico's Treasure-House 



years upon both sides of the Atlantic, to share in the gol- 
den possibilities which are here unfolded. 

In this treasure-house of Mexico— Guanajuato — are 
vast riches which may still to-day be shared-in by those 
who have early knowledge of their opportunities and 
who do not hesitate to avail themselves of them. The 
time is not yet when everything in the shape of a sound 
Guanajuato property is "up in the skies," as is the case 
with some other Mexican mines, such as the Dos Estrel- 
las in Michoacan State, the shares, of $100 each, of 
which are selling for $8,500 and have been sold at the 
stupendous figure of $9,500. When it is remembered 
that in Mexico between the years 1887 and 1889 as much 
as $14,401,648 (say £2,880,000) was produced by the 
mines of Guanajuato alone, sufficient should have been 
said to prove the great value of these mines and the ra- 
tional probability of their continuing to yield handsome 
returns to their fortunate proprietors. 

Those who trouble to read the following pages will 
realize why it is that these mines are passing into the 
hands of Anglo-Saxon capitalists one by one, and how 
the opportunities which exist to-day for participating in 
this attractive enterprise may soon fade away. 

I would desire to point out that in the subjoined 
chapters I have not availed myself of the privilege 
claimed by so many writers, and assumed the mantle of 
the prophet. I have contented myself with speaking of 
things as they actually are or have been, rather than as 
they may be ; permitting my readers to draw their own 
conclusions, which the data and descriptions afforded 
should enable them readily to do. 

From vay varied experiences, gathered upon nearly 



One Billion Dollars! 11 

every gold-field of the world and a quarter-of-a-een- 
tury's uninterrupted writings upon such forms of in- 
vestment, I feel certain that no necessity exists for 
"cramming facts down the throats" of the intelligent 
reading public. I provide the material, collected and 
sifted, if I may say so, with much care and no small 
amount of trouble; it is for those who read them to 
accept or reject the statements therein set forth. 

I can only say, however, that those who enter now 
into the but partially occupied field of industry which 
the gold and silver mines of Guanajuato hold open, be- 
fore the finest of these opportunities have been seized 
upon and closed, should have but little cause to regret 
their decision. The invaluable adjuncts of a stable 
government, a settled countrj^ and the best class of 
financial interests of the United States and Great Brit- 
ain represented in the management at work, are all 
here ; these should form the best recommendations, next 
to the unquestioned richness of the mines themselves, 
for all who are desirous of participating in Mexico's 
treasures. 

Those who have formed the impression that the Rand 
in the Transvaal is the only wonderful producer in the 
world, and who have heard of the celebrated West 
Australian and British Columbian mines, have probably 
but little knowledge of what the Mexican mines, and 
especially those situated in the Guanajuato district, 
have achieved. At Guanajuato the principal or 
'mother vein" has yielded the sum of $1,000,000,000 
(one billion dollars), as sufficiently proved by the Mint 
and Government records. The chief mines situated on 
the mother vein (Veta Madre) include the famous 



12 Mexico's Treasure-House 

Valenciana, the Rayas, the Mellado, the Cata and the 
Sirena, etc. Of these the Valenciana has been the 
greatest silver producer, having to its credit the sub- 
stantial sum of $300,000,000 and having been worked 
down to a depth of 2,400 feet on the incline. Taking 
the whole of these mines together, covering as they do 
an area of 10,000 feet on its strike, the output has been 
over $800,000,000, while the average depth worked with- 
in that course has been something less than 1,300 feet. 

Perhaps no closer explanation of the output of silver 
from Mexico during recent times could be offered than 
by means of the diagram to be found elsewhere, for 
which I may say I am indebted to the courtesy of the 
Editor of The Financial News (of London, England), 
and for which great newspaper I have had the honor to 
act as Special Foreign Correspondent for nearly a fifth 
of a century. 

It is only necessary to add that my illustration com- 
prises seven main perpendicular divisions, each division 
including four years' total silver output, commencing 
with the period 1877-81 and ending with the period of 
four years 1902-5. At the margin on either side of the 
design a scale of milHon dollars is seen, rising from zero, 
by equal divisions of $25,000,000, to a total of $350,- 
000,000 at the summit. 

The total output for each period of four years having 
been computed from official figures, vertical black 
columns, corresponding by their varying heights to the 
amount for each period, appear in each division, and in 
juxtaposition with the scale in the margin. It will be 
seen from the total figures given of the production of 
silver during the four years 1877-81 on the diagram, 



^MEXICO: OUTPUT OF SWJER.iejJ-igOSj^ 



MlLuo^s 



mi-8i\m2-s \m6-g i8go-5. is g^^-jysgs-'oj \jpo2'Os, 




Plate 2.] 



Transformation in Progress 



13 



that, compared with that stated for the last four years 
(1902-5), the output has increased by no less a sum 
than $213,458,584 Mex. (approximately, £21,346,000, 
or an increase of 200 per cent, in twenty-eight years. 

The "inset" tabulation of the Mexican exports of 
metals from 1900-1 to 1904-5 (shown in the chart) 
would appear to explain itself. The following com- 
pilation, however, of the percentages of increase and 
decrease under the head of each metal for the two 
periods 1900-1 and 1904-5 may be instructive: — 



Exports. 



Metal. 

Gold . 
Silver* 
Copper 
Lead . 



1900-1901. 

$8,955,536 

72,420,883 

11,177,753 

5,066,645 



1904-1905. 

$13,696,146 

65,523,646 

29,803,420 

5,504,669 



Percentage. 
Inc. or Dec. 

+ 52.9 
. - 9.5 

-M66.6 
. + 8.6 



Readers of these pages will be able to follow the 
histories, many full of romance, of the several properties 
and glean also some idea of what may yet become of 
them; for the whole of the Guanajuato Camp is un- 
dergoing a gradual transformation, and many of the 
long neglected properties are finding new owners pos- 
sessed of ample funds to put them once more upon a pro- 
fit-earning basis, as well as importing into the manage- 
ment all the enterprise, judgment and ability which 
nowadays characterize the Anglo-Saxon mining profes- 
sion. It is only fit and proper that a mining district pos- 



* The exportation of silver dollars has practically ceased, silver 
being now exported in the form of bullion at market value. 



14 Mexico's Treasure^House 

sessed of such a remarkable record as that of Guana- 
juato, and providing, as I believe it will, so fine a field 
for future developments, should have a volume — how- 
ever modest be its pretensions — devoted entirely to its 
consideration. 

The Author. 

Guanajuato, Mexico, June, 1906. 



Chapter I. 



Early Days in Guanajuato. — First Workings and Discovery of the 
Mother Lode. — Some Remarkable Prophecies. — Fortunes Re- 
alised. — De La Borde, Antonio Obregon and Sardaneta.- — 
Guanajuato Described. — The Origin of Its Name. — "Hill of 
the Frogs." — Hidalgo and Guanajuato. — The Carcel and Its 
Inmates. — The Panteon. — Some Spanish Architecture. — Places 
of Interest and Note. — A Town of Fine Residences. — Social 
Life in Guanajuato. — The Inhabitants and Their Recreations. 
— The Reservoir. — The Tramways. — Cost of Living. — Rail- 
way Improvements. 

GUANAJUATO, the capital of the state of the 
^ same name, became a city in 1741, and even at 
that time possessed a population of some 
80,000 souls. Long before then, however, the Span- 
iards had commenced mining in the district, the first 
shaft in the Mellado mine having been actually opened 
by them on April 15, 1558, and that of the Rayas mine 
on April 16, 1558. Previously to that, even, a silver dis- 
covery had been made at San Bernabe, at La Luz, but 
it took a period of nine years for the early pioneers to 
discover that there existed such a thing as a Mother Lode. 
At the point where this discovery was made the ore was 
mined to a width of 100 feet, while the sinking of the 
Mellado shaft, above referred to, proved the continuity 
of the vein northward and mining speedily spread along 
both sides of the lode, the workings at about this period 
being from Tepayac to Sirena. 

The district has never lacked enthusiastic recommen- 
dation, and probably no mining camp in the world has 
ever more deserved it. Cortes sang its praises, even 

Pape 15 



16 Mexico's Treasure-House 



imperilling his own interests by so doing, since the 
greedy King of Spain demanded his "tithe" upon every 
dollar's worth of gold and silver extracted, and had a 
nasty way of showing that he meant to have it. Hum- 
boldt proclaimed its value from the housetops, and a 
consequence of his eminent advocacy was that a stream 
of men, entirely unfitted for or experienced in mining 
in any country, and especially one hke Mexico in those 
troublous days, came out from all parts of Europe and 
succeeded in doing an injury both to themselves and to 
the country which they afflicted. In later days promi- 
nent mining experts like Mr. John Hays Hammond 
have pronounced unhesitatingly in favor of Guanajuato 
camp, this gentleman, with a world-wide experience to 
guide him, having declared his belief that "the district 
of Guanajuato is the most thorough^ mineralized zone 
in the known world for gold and silver." Even from the 
grave comes additional testimony to Mexico's remark- 
able richness, for on one memorable occasion now re- 
called with interest — "for he who is dead jet speaketh" 
— Cecil Khodes expressed his firm conviction in the 
future greatness of this richly endowed country. "It 
is my opinion," said the distinguished Empire-Builder, 
"that the richest mining countries in the world are Mex- 
ico, Peru and Bolivia, especially Mexico. I am not 
blind to the unison of opinion as expressed by scientists 
and experts that Mexico will one day furnish the gold, 
silver, copper of the world ; that from her hidden vaults, 
her subterranean treasure-houses, will come the gold, 
silver, copper and precious stones that will build the em- 
pires of to-morrow and make future cities of this world 
veritable New Jerusalems." 



Some Lucky Mine-Owners IT 

There are stories more or less common gossip to-day 
among the Mexican peons of vast fortunes taken out of 
some Mexican mines, one evidence of which is to be 
found not alone in the magnificent residences which the 
lucky owners built for themselves out of the proceeds, 
but in the form of handsome churches and chapels which 
they piously constructed and richly endowed as a thank- 
offering. There was the colossally rich Joseph de la 
Borde, a Frenchman who, in 1743, won $18,000,000 out 
of the Canada mine, and again, in 1762, took $12,000,- 
000 out of the Tasco mine. One Jose Sardaneta ex- 
tracted $11,000,000 from the Rayas mine, and An- 
tonio Obregon was half -owner of another property 
which yielded to its fortunate proprietors a trifle of 
$226,000,000! "What has been, may be again." 

The City of Guanajuato is practically enclosed by the 
high precipitous mountains which surround it, the prin- 
cipal entrance being through the Canada de Marfil. 
This Canada terminates southward in the lofty and steep 
"Bufa," a mountain crowned with curious-looking 
rocks, about 1,050 feet high, measured from the bot- 
tom of the valley. On the loftiest of the northern 
slopes are located the celebrated Valenciana, Mellado 
and Rayas mines. Easterly and northeasterly, the Sire- 
na Mountains rise about 1,200 feet, while southwesterly 
between Guanajuato and Marfil, the mountains become 
less rugged and considerably lower, sloping rapidly 
towards the city. From this eminence one can look 
down upon a portion of the town, but never at any time 
can one obtain a complete view of the whole place, wind- 
ing a little, as it does, and nestling deep down in the 
shade of the canon. 



18 Mexico's Treasure-House 

The low hills afford from the southwest a splendid 
perspective of the plains of Celaya and Salamanca. The 
surrounding heights are practically bare of timber now, 
although at one time it is believed they were well covered 
with American oak, which grows well here. Most of the 
available timber was cut down by both sides during the 
War of Independence, while in the early days of the 
Republic no steps were adopted to prevent further de- 
struction, and no new trees were planted. The heights 
to-day are only overgrown with low but thick scrub, and 
various kinds of cactus. On the other hand, near by 
there are some good plantations of mezquite, or iron- 
wood, which is valuable for the mines and building pur- 
poses also. An unlimited amount of broken rock and 
stones, almost every size, is found ready to hand, and 
is largely utilized, for constructing small houses for the 
miners, while the loose soil is likewise used for adobe 
bricks, made much after the style in Egypt, the stuff 
hardening splendidly in the sun, and forming a very 
durable and substantial material for walls and flooring 
at practically no cost but that of the labor itself. 

How the City of Guanajuato, like the State itself, 
derived its name no one knows, although the guide-book 
editor and the local quidnunc will glibly tell you all 
about it. What is certain, however, is that while the 
modern spelling of the word is as written above, the 
actual pronunciation is entirely different, being as 
nearly as possible thus : ^'Wan-ah-wdh-to/' The word 
is evidently Tarascan or Otomite in origin, or even, 
perhaps, Toltec. Handed down, as it has been, by 
Spanish translators from generation to generation, both 
the precise pronunciation and the original significance 



"The Hill-of -Frogs" 19 

have been lost. It is said that the ancient Tarascan In- 
dians called the place the "Hill of Frogs." This, how- 
ever, is the merest conjecture, and certainly there is 
nothing about the formation of the country to warrant 
the description of a "frog" being applied to it more 
than that of any other animal, while it is obvious that 
the name could not apply to the whole surrounding 
country even if it related to any particular portion of 
it. Furthermore, there are but few frogs or animals of 
the same species found in the neighborhood which would 
account in any way for the designation now commonly 
attributed to the country. 

Among the cave-dwellings and rocks found among 
the ancient remains of Guanajuato have been discovered 
certain stone-figures, doubtless deities among the an- 
cient Indians, and which, to the highly imaginative eye, 
may resemble frogs. This fact is seized upon as evi- 
dence to prove the derivation of the title "Hill of 
Frogs"; but, on the other hand, other stone images 
of other strange animals have been found in the same 
places, so that this explanation is only partially accept- 
able after all. 

If this were a guide-book, much could be written about 
the attractions of Guanajuato City as a tourist center 
but it is not such a publication, nor has it indeed any 
ambition to be so considered; while, as has been pre- 
viously pointed out, Guanajuato does not lie upon the 
beaten track of tourists coming to Mexico, yet several 
stray specimens of that wandering class occasionally 
find their way there. 

Nevertheless the city is replete with interesting sights 
and memories, inseparable, indeed, from the history of 



20 Miwko'a Trcnswrc-I louse 



the Rc'])iil)lic itself. For instance, the State prison, a 
conspicuous object, situated in the very centre of the 
town, is alone worth a visit to Guanajuato to see and 
licar about. Originally this ])lace was built as a Cham- 
ber of (\)iiinicrce, and in 17H5 was dedicated to the 
})eaccful uses of trade and industry. The Alhondi^a, or 
Castillo de (Jranaditas, is a perfectly scpiare, flat-roofed, 
solid-looking' building, not in the least suggestive of 
anything else but what it is - a gaol. 

The prison regime in Mexico certainly does not err 
upon the side of harshness, if one may judge from the 
lenient maimer in which i)ris()ners of the Carcel at Guan- 
ajuato are treated. The building itself is not particu- 
larly gloomy exccj)t from the outside, the interior being 
formed of the usual "patio," with different departments, 
devoted to various trades followed by the prisoners, 
opening off it. The centre of the ])atio is occui)ied by a 
large sipiare basin of water, wherein the ])ris()ners are 
com])elled to bathe and indulge in what, to the most of 
them, at least, must be the novelty of a cold shower. 
The sleeping accommodation is cleaidy and healthful, 
but not precisely luxurious. The food which is given 
is wholesome and plentiful, but not especially appe- 
tising. The prisoners are allowed perfect freedom in 
walking about the building and even mounting to the 
flat roof and there viewing the city lying beneath them. 
Probably some of the inmates of the C^areel ;ii-e better 
ofl' where they are than they would be in wretched 
hovels which some of them know as "home." Some of 
the very long-sentenced men, who are held for murder or 
some other serious oft'ence, are sent out daily to work on 
the roads or new public buildings, and they are not dis- 



His Excellency General Don Poufirio Diaz. 

President of the Re])ublic of Mexico. 



Plate 3.] 



Hidalgo, The Patriot Priest 21 

pleased at the privilege, either. After all, their forced 
labor is not very unlike their customary voluntary ser- 
vice, and the food they receive is somewhat better. 

The rebellious priest, Hidalgo, whose history forms 
one of the most striking examples of heroism, and whose 
end was that of most patriots who were born "a little too 
soon," — a painful and humiliating death, took this ap- 
parently impregnable stronghold in the early part of 
the uprising against the Spanish domination. Hidalgo, 
however, was himself captured later at Chihuahua, and, 
having been held in prison there, was brought to Guana- 
juato, and, in company with other patriotic but unsuc- 
cessful leaders — Allende, Aldama, and Jimenez — was 
executed in this prison, the heads being suspended by 
the hair on iron hooks at its foiu* corners. To-day, 
handsome marble tablets, inscribed in gigantic letters of 
gold with the names of the four sufferers, occupy the 
places where the hooks with their gastly burdens were 
previously placed. 

The legend connected with the taking of this prison 
says that Hidalgo called for a volunteer from among 
his followers to come forth and set fire to the building's 
massive doors. Immediately an enthusiastic Mexican 
peon presented himself — there was no lack of heroes in 
those inspiriting times — and, binding a huge square 
slab of paving stone on his broad back, doubtless to 
ward-oiF the shots and pieces of rock hurled down upon 
him from the roof of the building by its defenders, he 
actually succeeded in accomphshing his object. The 
name of this "peon-patriot" has been lost in obscurity, 
but a stone statue representing the unknown hero with 
the stone bound to his back and a flaming torch in his 



22 Meocico's Treasure-House 

hand has been erected to his memory and reposes in the 
interior of the Carcel, well protected by heavy iron 
railings. It bears no inscription, since the name of the 
individual is no longer known. To this day, however, 
the stray visitor is shown some deep and no doubt per- 
fectly genuine crimson stains on the heavy stone pillars 
of the principal stair-case, which are declared to be the 
veritable blood of the victims who fell in the taking of 
the Alhondiga. There is probably a great deal more 
foundation for this belief than for most other narra- 
tives of a similar nature. Certainly the events narrated 
are of comparatively recent occurrence, and it is not 
merely a question of — ^^si non e verro, e hen trovato." 

For those who revel in the weird and the gruesome, 
there is the Panteon, which strongly reminds one of 
the catacombs at San Calixto at Rome or those at 
Paris. The vaults contain some hundreds of skeletons 
of dead and almost forgotten human beings, who once 
peacefully reposed in decent Christian graves, but who, 
owing to the reluctance or inability of their surviving 
relatives to pay the rent, have been ignominiously 
evicted, and now stand in their serried ranks in this 
gloomy charnel-house, awaiting final dissolution. It 
seems that the lease of an ordinary tomb, or a receptacle 
in the wall, is for five years. If, at the end of that time, 
no renewal is arranged for, the poor body is turned out 
and takes its place, as I have said, side by side with other 
evicted corpses. Here they may be inspected by means 
of a special permit from the Government authorities. 
Formerly the skeletons remained absolutelj^ uncovered; 
but, owing to the propensity of visitors for stealing the 
poor things' bones, and perhaps also from a latent mo- 



Spanish Architecture 23 

tive of decency, white sheets now hang from the necks 
downwards, conceahng from view all but the grinning 
skulls and the lower parts of the legs. It would not be 
amiss were the authorities to proceed a little further and 
close this part of the Panteon altogether. 

In Guanajuato may be seen some of the very finest 
of the many fine specimens of ancient Spanish architec- 
ture, especially among the numerous Churches, of which 
nearly every famous mine still possesses a magnificent 
specimen. The style in Mexico is something between 
Aztec and Spanish, and yet wholly characteristic of 
neither. The main and most interesting features are 
the patio and the Moorish domes, arches and towers. The 
patio is admittedly Aztec in origin, although the Span- 
iards also employed it in their houses, if not in pre- 
cisely the same form or for the same purposes. The 
splendid arches to be found throughout Mexico, and 
some beautiful specimens of which are met with support- 
ing prosaic hacienda walls in Guanajuato, are distinctly 
Spanish. Even the most ordinary architecture is im- 
proved by such artistic additions. The great Moorish 
domes and elaborately carved fronts on some of the 
Churches, such as those at the Valenciana mine and the 
one facing the Bustos Mill at Guanajuato, are particu- 
larly fine; and it is to be hoped that Guanajuato people 
will treasure these relics of the past carefully and as a 
trust, not allowing the "improving" hand of the builder 
to touch even as much as a stone or a crack of them. 

I have visited a dozen little places, both large and 
small, in Italy, Sicily and some parts of Spain which 
remind me forcibly of Guanajuato, more especially since 
the awful visitation of July, 1905, when^ as the result of 



24 Mexico's Treasure-House 

a cloud-burst in the hills, a large portion of the centre 
of the town was reduced to ruins, the results of which 
calamity are, however, fast disappearing. But there all 
resemblance ceases. Guanajuato is as clean and as trim 
as Italy and Sicily are slovenly and dirty; the people 
are as bright and as cheerful as the Italians and Span- 
iards are depressed and poverty-stricken. But the same 
glorious skies of cerulean blue spread above both, and 
the same brilliant green foliage is to be found in one and 
all these towns alike. 

Guanajuato is a strange mixture and assimilation of 
the old and the new, of the picturesque and the strictly 
utilitarian. Side by side with a humble adobe dwelling, 
towers some handsome edifice surrounded by its beauti- 
ful gardens. It is difficult to convey an adequate idea 
of the beauty of the town's pride-building, the "Teatro 
Juarez," a structure which, to the sceptical observer, 
might appear almost too magnificent for the town 
which it adorns, and too capacious for the number of in- 
habitants which it contains. There is many a provincial 
town in England and France, to say nothing of the Uni- 
ted States of America, which would be extremely and 
properly proud to own so stately a building as the 
"Teatro Juarez," which overlooks the Jar din de la 
Union, and completely dominates it. The design is of 
modern architecture and of the highly ornate style, the 
exterior being built of the beautiful green-stone found 
in the neighboring hills. Its superb portico is supported 
by a double row of six Ionic pillars, the portico itself 
being in two low tiers surmounted by a terraced bal- 
cony, with eight superb allegorical bronze figures. The 
supporting columns are constructed of discs of green- 



Some of Guanajuato's Buildings 25 

stone, laid one upon another. The bronze lamps and 
their finely moulded supports^ the broad and sweeping 
flights of stone steps leading up to the entrance hall, to- 
gether with the handsome wrought iron-work of the 
railings and window balconies, are about as fine as one 
would see in a city of the greatest pretensions. If the 
exterior is magnificent the auditorium is no less so, be- 
ing richly decorated, carved and upholstered. The 
theatre possesses one of the finest foyers that I have 
seen, almost as fine as that of the celebrated Opera- 
House at Paris, furnished in a sumptuous manner, and 
elaborately paved with semi-transparent glass tiles. 

Another superb building is that of the Palace of 
Legislature, which was inaugurated by President Diaz 
in November, 1903. The edifice, however, was actually 
completed three years previous, at a cost of over $150,- 
000.00 Mex. The Architect was Louis Long, and the 
whole of the decorative painting was done by Claudio 
Molina and Nicolas Gonzalez. The structure is a three- 
story one of solid masonry, the ground floor of which is 
occupied by the revenue office and treasury. The halls 
of Congress are situated on the first floor, the Tribunals 
of Justice being on the second and the archives rooms 
on the third. The first story front rests on twelve slen- 
der, graceful columns, and four bronze and crystal elec- 
tric light clusters stand in the angles of the courtyard. 
The Congress-hall is divided into two parts, — one being 
for the State deputies and the other for the Public. The 
walls are hung with oil paintings representing distin- 
guished Mexicans, such as the patriot-priest Hidalgo, 
President Benito Juarez, President Porfirio Diaz, Cor- 
tazer, Abasolo, Aldama and Doblado. These pictures. 



26 3Ieccico's Treasure-House 

together Avith the furniture, cost over $100,000 Mex. 
Among other notable features of Guanajuato to-day 
may be mentioned the Esperanza Reservoir, the Elec- 
trical Power Plant, the Parque Porfirio Diaz, known 
as "El Cantador," and the Presa de la OUa. The State 
College, where a magnificent collection of mineral speci- 
mens has been got together, is also a notable addition 
to the possessions of this well-favored town. 

Guanajuato is, moreover, singularly fortunate in the 
possession of a number of beautiful private residences, 
the great majority of which are conspicuous, not alone 
by the elegance of their architecture, but by the superb 
gardens which front and sometimes suround them. 
Owing to the curious conformation of the ground upon 
which the town of Guanajuato is built, viz: a deep ravine 
through which runs the erratic and broken course of the 
river-bed, some of the houses stand very high, while 
others are located on a much lower level, the gardens 
running up or down as the nature of the ground dic- 
tates. Every kind of sub-tropical plants and flowers 
are to be found in these beautiful gardens, which, viewed 
from a height, afford one the impression that Guana- 
juato is situated on one huge green oasis, nestling cosily 
in the hollow of the eternal hills which surround it. 
There is an air of delicious freedom and quietness about 
the place almost deceptive, since, especially of late 
months, it has become the centre of a considerable 
activity which promises to become more pronounced as 
the mines are more largely opened up. The Central Plaza 
or Jar din is a rendezvous for all "the rank, fashion and 
beauty" of Guanajuato at midday and at sunset when 
the day's work is finished. Here the Mexicans of the 



Social Life 27 

lower class assemble, and in their motly attire and mul- 
ti-colored blankets form as curious and amusing a gath- 
ering as one would meet with in a day's march. They are 
a quiet and well-behaved crowd, the only disturbing ele- 
ment being the noisy newspaper boys and itinerant ven- 
dors, who, here as elsewhere, proclaim their wares in 
strident accents suggestive of excellent lungs but little 
consideration for others who possess "nerves." 

A very pleasant phase of Guanajuato's social Hfe is 
the good feeling and bonhomie which exist between the 
various foreigners living there. Naturally the American 
element predominates, but there are a few Britishers and 
one or two Germans who provide the necessary leven- 
ing element, the result being a decidedly agreeable little 
coterie all being upon excellent terms with one another 
and au mieux with the native official classes. The Guan- 
ajuato Club — or "Casino" as it is termed — is the rendez- 
vous of all the "good fellows" of the town, and at almost 
any time of the evening or on a hoHday one may be cer- 
tain of meeting with some congenial companion. There 
is a technical society here also known as the "Saturday 
Night Club," where most of the leading mining men 
come into town and meet in informal conference. That 
the foreigners living in and around Guanajuato are very 
popular with the Mexicans is an undoubted fact. They 
are few in number but very influential, and no act of 
charity or to the public advantage is ever allowed by 
them to escape their attention and active co-operation. 
Moreover, both the Americans and the Englishmen are 
good to their own people and to one another, as numer- 
ous deeds of kindness and generosity, of which I have 
personal knowledge, testify. Altogether Guanajuato 



28 Mexico's Treasure-House 

may be termed a very desirable place in which to live, as 
much by reason of its social attraction as its magnificent 
climate, picturesque surroundings and splendid business 
opportunities. Undoubtedly the city to-day contains 
some of the brightest and most accomplished men in the 
mining and engineering profession, men of whom the 
scientific and commercial world are destined to hear a 
very great deal more in the future. 

Finally, in Guanajuato they are a cheery lot of men 
and kind, hospitable women, who live up to the creed 
of Ovid, lover of good things. "Et res non semper, spes 
mihi semper adest/' 

Apart altogether from its great interest as a mining 
centre, Guanajuato must always hold great historical 
value as the place where Hidalgo won his greatest suc- 
cess, and which, indeed, became his headquarters. In 
his day the city was considered one of the richest and 
most important in the country, and although after the 
several revolutions which followed the severance from 
Spain, Guanajuato fell somewhat from its lofty estate, 
it is at the present time fast regaining its former import- 
ance and even adding to it. British and American capi- 
tal is coming in more rapidly and with greater results 
than in any other part of the Republic. Almost every 
street and many of the houses in Guanajuato speak yet 
of Hidalgo and his conquering followers, for things out- 
wardly, at least, have changed very little in the city. 
It was on the 13th of September, in 1810, that Hidalgo 
commenced his revolt against Spain and the rapidity 
with which he collected his followers around him was not 
the least remarkable feature of his short but successful 
campaign. It is said that his army was got together in 




Guanajuato: A Typical Stiieet in the Peon Quarter 

OF THE City. 

Plate 4.] 



The Deeds of Hidalgo 29 

the space of 24 hours, and just before coining to Guana- 
juato he captured two other towns, San Fehpe and San 
Miquel el Grande, seizing all the foreigners' property 
and destroying their houses, a similar policy being pur- 
sued in Guanajuato itself. Here had been gathered to- 
gether an immense amount of valuable treasure, since the 
Spaniards had brought in all their hoards of gold, silver, 
quicksilver and family jewels, thinking that in the Al- 
hondiga, strongly fortified as it was and under the pro- 
tection of the Intendant himself, they were perfectly 
safe. But the victorious Hidalgo not only took the 
Alhondiga and killed the Intendant and the Spaniards, 
but appropriated the whole of their accumulated 
treasure and found it extremely useful for maintaining 
his army of patriotic assassins, and keeping them in 
good humor. 

The Guanajuato Tramways Company runs a local 
service with three branches as follows: The main line 
from Marfil to Guanajuato, serving the city and the res- 
idential portion as far as La Presa, that being the ter- 
minus ; a branch line to Pastita, and a second branch to 
Bustos. The traction is by means of mules, it being con- 
templated to change the power to electricity, however, 
at some later date. 

The water supply of the city is both ample in quantity 
and excellent in quality. The watershed is situated high 
up in the surrounding mountains, and is actively pa- 
trolled by police for the purpose of preventing any foul- 
ing or tampering with the supply. La Esperanza dam 
is a magnificent piece of work, and reflects as much 
credit upon the constructors as it does upon the enter- 
prise of the town in building it. 



30 Mexico's Treasure-House 

The telephone service is at present confined to private 
installations, but a Company has been formed to intro- 
duce a public service upon the most approved principles, 
pnd which will connect Guanajuato with Mexico City. 

Living in Guanajuato, if considered in all its aspects, 
is certainly not expensive, and compares favorably with 
the j)rices paid in other cities. House rents are, however, 
continually augmenting; but this may be explained by 
the fact that the foreign resident population is contin- 
ually increasing; houses with fine gardens which 
formerly let for $25 Mex. (say £2/10) a month, now 
fetch $100 Mex. (£10) a month, and accommodation is 
extremely difficult to obtain. The hotels, of which there 
are but three in the city of any consequence, are at pres- 
ent unable to accommodate all the guests. 

Even to the visitor who is "no miner," a walk around 
a Guanajuato mine must inevitably prove of great in- 
terest, and indeed a source of some wonderment also. 
Whether one pauses at the outset to watch the busy, 
hurrying throngs below — men, women and children 
hastening here, there and everywhere, climbing up the 
winding road or stumbling down the path from the main 
entrance, reminding the spectator strongly of "Jacob's 
Ladder" and its angel hosts; whether one examines 
the huge mounds of as yet untreated ore ; measures with 
the eye the huge excavations along the outcrop of the 
principal vein — some with a breadth of something like 
200 ft. between walls and 40 ft. deep; enters the 
gigantic cavernous stope, which has a width of 20 ft., 
a height of 300 ft. and a length of 300 ft.; or lingers 
above ground to admire the beautiful panorama of open 
country and stretches of rolling mountains for hundreds 



The Old Order and The New 31 

of miles — the experience is both a novel and a delightful 
one in the extreme. 

One can indulge uninterruptedly in day-dreams, if one 
is that way inclined, for the neighborhood is strongly 
suggestive of romance and stirring tradition, conjuring 
up visions of the ancient Indians, with their fire and 
water appliances, toiling for the silver contained in the 
rocks; picture heroic Hidalgo himself with his 20,000 
followers announcing "the independence of Mexico," 
and being joined by the inhabitants marching tri- 
umphantly into Guanajuato and satisfying their feel- 
ings by levelling every important residence in the place. 
But those days of strife and turmoil, of revolution and 
counter revolution, have forever — let us hope — disap- 
peared, and only peaceful toil " — humble toil and 
heavenward duty, these that form the perfect man — " 
now disturbs the quietude of nature. Here for hundreds 
of years men have wrestled with the hard, unyielding 
rocks for their concealed treasure ; and here, for manj'^ 
more years to come, will man's latest mechanical devices 
\\Ting from the reluctant earth every single grain of 
precious metal that remains uncollected. 

The only drawback to the complete success of the City 
of Guanajuato as a place of residence, namely, the ab- 
sence of direct railway connection, is shortly to be re- 
moved, and probably by the end of the current year the 
long devised and much wanted plans for the Central 
Railway Hne direct into the city, will have been consum- 
mated. The right of way through the long route from 
Marfil to Guanajuato, about four miles and at present 
traversed by a primitive mule tramway, has been se- 
cured and the construction of the extension is to be com- 



32 Mexico's Treasure-House 

menced immediately. The San Gregorio branch rail- 
way, which at present also terminates at Marfil, is to be 
provided with a station in the City of Guanajuato like- 
wise and this will afford connection with the National 
Railway at Salamanca. This new railway acconmioda- 
tion means an immense deal for the mining interests, 
which are at present somewhat adversely affected by the 
inadequate arrangements for bringing in supplies and 
machinery. 



Chapter IL 



The State of Guanajuato. — Curious Topographical Features. — 
Mountains. — Rivers. — Climate and Rainy Season. — Spring- 
Time in Mexico. — The Flood of July, 1905. — Flowers. — 
Fruits. — Mining and Agriculture. — Some Experiences. — ^Ward 
and His Opinions. — The Industries of Guanajuato. — Remark- 
able Annual Output. — How the State is Divided. — Towns and 
Populations. — Railway Locomotion. — Posts, Telegraphs, &c. 

NATURE has been bountiful in her dealings 
with Guanajuato and, in comparison with some 
parts of the Repubhe of Mexico, it is assuredly 
one of the most favored in position of climate and 
mineral richness. Its immense natural deposits of gold 
and silver are now world-famed, and, indeed, have been 
so for many hundreds of years. Its fertile lands, popu- 
lous cities, thriving population and well-equipped rail- 
roads make the State of Guanajuato one of the 
choicest of the 27 States forming the United States of 
Mexico. 

As neighbors, Guanajuato has the flourishing State 
of San Luis Potosi on the North, and Michoacan, with 
the celebrated Dos Estrellas and Esperanza mines, on 
the South ; beautiful Jalisco on the West and the quaint 
Queretaro on the East, — a constellation of natural scenic 
attractiveness hard to beat. 

The traveller viewing this portion of the country for 
the first time, cannot but be struck with its curious topo- 
graphical aspect, unlike in many respects that of any 
other part of Mexico. The situation of the land is on 
the Cordillera of the Anahuac. The Northwest and Cen- 

Page 33 



34 Mexico's Treasure-House 

tral sections are traversed by mountainous ranges, while 
to the west and south extend the wonderfully rich valleys 
on San Felipe, San Judas and Santiago, as well as the 
beautiful fertile plain of the El Bajio. Here may be 
seen the heights of the Sierra Gorda to the Northeast, 
and those of the Sierra de Guanajuato in the centre, — 
the Cordonices, San Antonio and Santa Rosa ranges all 
forming a junction at this point. Into the exquisite tur- 
quoise heavens rises the summit of the "Gigante" (the 
Giant) , some 2,346 meters high, and looking quite con- 
spicuous in its solitary grandeur. It is, however, not 
the highest peak in the Guanajuato mountains, for the 
beautiful Llanitos is some 2,815 meters high. These 
mountains are soothing to the eye rather than magnifi- 
cent, and serve to fill in the frame work of the picture, 
bestowing upon it that completeness which Nature alone 
can supply. There are several smaller ranges extending 
in apparently endless tiers away to the horizon, pre- 
senting a soft, velvety appearance in the sun-light, such 
as an artist would give his soul to be able to depict upon 
canvas. 

What makes the Guanajuato State and District par- 
ticularly valuable both from an agricultural and a 
mining point of view, is the abundance of water which 
Nature has lavishly provided, yet with a careful and dis- 
criminating hand. Of the several rivers which course 
through this portion of the country and water the state 
almost from end to end, are the Lerma, the Laja and 
the Turbio. The two latter are, as a matter of fact, 
tributaries to the first named, but of sufficient impor- 
tance in themselves to warrant a separate and distinct 
nomination. 



Rivers and Climate 35 

The Lerma rises in the State of Mexico, crosses the 
State of Guanajuato for a distance of about 147 kilo- 
meters, and then loses itself in the Pacific Ocean near 
San Bias, in the Territory of Tepic. Its affluent, the 
Laja, commences its career in the mountains of the 
Sierra de Guanajuato, and, after receiving the tributes 
of other streams and running a course of a 126 kilo- 
meters, throws itself into the receptive arms of its mother 
Lerma. 

The Turbio is sometimes known under the name of 
Gomez, and, rising away in the mountains, meanders 
through some 113 kilometers of country, eventually 
reaching the Lerma and there emptying itself. 

Besides these three rivers, the State of Guanajuato 
possesses the Irapuato, a small but useful stream, and 
the Yuririapundaro, or "lake of blood," about 97 square 
kilometers in extent, and dotted with several little 
islands. A large natural well, believed by some to be 
the crater of an extinct or at least a quiescent volcano 
is more interesting than valuable. It is called the Albe- 
cas, but its precise depth has never been successfully 
gauged. 

Next to its splendid water supply, Guanajuato may 
be congratulated upon its superb climate. Assuredly, 
but few climates exist which are more delightful. Unless 
one climbs up into the mountains during the winter and 
rainy season, when it is apt to be cold and damp, the 
climate is perfectly charming, being seldom too hot and 
as seldom too cold, although this year (1906) the in- 
habitants may have had some reason to complain of the 
sharp frost which visited them and did material damage 



36 Mexico's Treasure-House 

to their growing crops and flower-gardens, as well as 
causing them personally to regret the insufficiency of 
their attire. This, however, is very exceptional, the 
mean temperature being about 21 degrees C. (say 70 
degrees Fahrenheit), and the highest 28 degrees C. (say 
82.40 degrees Fahrenheit) during the hot months of 
the year. 

When it rains in Guanajuato — ^it rains! There is no 
doubt about that, nor is it all necessary or usual to in- 
quire "whether it is raining?" The water comes down in 
buckets; but, severe as it is while it lasts, the sky soon 
clears, and the glorious sun again comes forth to warm 
the grateful earth. Although it has been known to rain 
for as long as from two or three days without cessation, 
the duration of the showers usually fails to exceed two 
or three hours at a time. The rains conmience about the 
middle of July, and continue till the beginning of Octo- 
ber. The wind comes from the Northeast, changing to 
Southeast as the rainy season approaches. 

Guanajuato has had its good times and its bad, its ups 
and its downs, its fortunes and its misfortunes. It has 
borne the one as stoically as the other, and although 
once visited with a misfortune which would have caused 
any ordinary town of its kind to bend and break under 
the affliction, Guanajuato shook itself bravely and at 
once commenced to restore its shattered condition. 

At times of Revolution the town had suff^ered badly. 
In the years when the Revolutionary troops vied with 
those of the Government side in purposeless destruc- 
tion, and again when Hidalgo made a brave but fruit- 
less attempt to free his country and found Guanajuato 
among the first to welcome him and his cause. Guana- 




Guanajuato: A Peon Standixc; at the Door of 

HIS House. 

Plate o.] [See page U. 



The Inundation of July, 1905 37 

juato suffered. But by far the greatest blow endured 
was that which fell on the 1st July, 1905, ever to be re- 
membered among the people as un jour de malheur. 

The sum total of this misfortune was a loss of 200 
human hves, the wrecking of 400 houses, the irrepar- 
able loss of valuable property such as the fine hbraries 
of the Governor, of many private individuals and of 
State archives, and a financial damage to the amount of 
$3,000,000, say, £300,000. It must stand as an ever- 
lasting tribute to the pluck, energy and patriotism of 
the people that in the short space of 48 hours after the 
accident had occurred, money, food and clothing poured 
into the stricken town, and not a soul seeking help was 
denied. The magnificent response of Guanajuato's own 
citizens stood out boldly from among a list of hberal 
donators, and the same spirt of loyalty and generosity 
has ever been displayed by the Guanajuato people when- 
ever they have been called upon. 

The situation of Guanajuato is unfortunate in some 
respects, but delightfully picturesque as I have said, 
and as my panoramic photographs will show. In a 
moimtainous region like this, the storm clouds naturally 
find considerable attraction and the fall of rain is ex- 
tremely heavy while it lasts. It was a cloudburst just 
over the town of Guanajuato that caused the misfor- 
tune primarily. At the very highest portion of the town 
is the fine reservoir and dam known as La Olla, and at 
first the inhabitants believed that it was this which had 
given way and was emptying the city's water supply 
recklessly through the streets. But although the dam 
and its masonry walls did not escape damage, they held 
together. The deluge proceeded from the mountains 



38 Mexicans Treasure-House 

themselves, and rushing down the steep street of the 
town simply washed everything before it — substantial 
buildings, trees, walls and the luckless people. Al- 
though the great calamity occurred at an hour in the 
afternoon, it had been raining heavily for some days 
previous. Other inundations had been known, but 
none like this. The town was more than usually 
full of people, many having come in from the country 
round about to witness the ceremonies held in connec- 
tion with the emptying of the La Olla reservoir for 
cleansing purposes. The Presa de la Olla was gay with 
booths and brightly attired peons. Then down came the 
irresistible rush of waters, in which hundreds of people 
were swept away like whisps of straw, some to be saved, 
others to be carried, drowned or battered to death, into 
the Guanajuato River, or to lie jammed under fallen 
houses and crumbled walls. Some of the bodies were 
recovered as far away as Marfil, four miles from Gua- 
najuato, where the Central Railway's line, connecting 
with Silao and the main system, was almost washed 
away. Although much of the damage has since been re- 
paired, the eleven months are not sufficiently long to 
restore what the flood of a single hour laid to waste. 
In an almost incredibly short space of time the waters 
had come down on the devoted town, reduced it 
to practical ruin and then disappeared. To-day the 
crumbling walls and huge gaps between the houses, the 
broken-up appearance of some of the surrounding walls 
and the damp condition of fully one-half of the houses 
in the town itself, testify to the trial which the inhabi- 
tants had to go through, a trial borne with the most ex- 
emplary patience and resignation. Fortunately the 



Scenic Attractions 39 

splendid public buildings like the "Teatro Juarez," the 
Legislative Chambers and the Governor's Palace, did 
not suffer heavily, the first named escaping almost en- 
tirely owing to the elevated position which it occupies. 

That any recurrence of the disaster referred to, in con- 
nection with the Guanajuato flood of July, 1905, can 
take place, is unlikely in view of the determination ar- 
rived at to construct a tunnel running through the high 
ground about the city, which will carry oif all the sur- 
plus water which may accumulate from either a cloud- 
burst or protracted rains in the immediate neighbor- 
hood. The State Engineer's plans have been passed, 
and the contract for constructing the tunnel has been 
awarded. The tunnel will be 1,300 meters long, by 7% 
meters in diameter. Most of the work will be through 
solid rock, and it will occupy at least 12 months to com- 
plete it. The contract is in the hands of the Mexican 
Construction and Engineering Co., of Mexico City, 
who have already made a commencement. 

It would be difi[icult to find in the whole of Mexico a 
prettier stretch of country than that surrounding the 
the City of Guanajuato, especially during the Spring 
months of March and April. Then the whole aspect 
of the land, as in the United States and Great Britain, 
undergoes a complete change of colour ; the dull browns 
of Winter giving place to the most exquisite tints of 
green, ranging in hue from the palest lettuce to the 
darkest sage, and with the delicate mauves, dark purples 
and sienna browns of the mountain ranges, combined 
with the opalescence of the sky (which does not change 
from day to day in its purity and denseness), all make 
up a color-scheme which no eye could fail to admire. 



40 Meooico's Treasure-House 

Spring-time in Mexico is the loveliest period of the 
year, and seldom demonstrates that fickleness that char- 
acterizes an English Spring, or brings disaster to the 
farmer and despair to the sportsman. It is very rarely 
that the seasons in Mexico are disappointing in their re- 
sults, or uncertain in their times of arrival. 

The flowers in Mexico are unrivalled in any part of 
the world, and I speak from a wide experience, having 
travelled around the globe some four times, and having 
visited every part of it. The rich coloring and the in- 
toxicating perfimie of the Mexican flora form a con- 
tinual delight to those who have never seen or inhaled 
them before. Here, one is attracted by the enticing 
but somewhat too powerful odor of the flowering 
orange-tree, as much as by the brilliant green of its sur- 
rounding foliage. Of roses there are countless \rarie- 
ties, as of lilies; while camelias, heliotrope, bourganvil- 
lers, clematis, iris, hydrangea and innumerable other 
kinds of flowers which delight the eye and regale the 
nostrils, may be found in almost wild profusion. 

The number and character of the trees are, perhaps, 
little less remarkable. Near the City of Guanajuato 
one may find hundreds of beautiful well-grown oaks, 
blue-gum, and other similar trees. One particularly 
fine forest of well-developed oaks is located upon a 
ranch belonging to the Guanajuato Development Com- 
pany, and of which I give somewhat fuller details in 
another part of this volume. In the State of Guana- 
juato there may be foimd some twenty-three diff^erent 
species of timber, valuable alike for building purposes, 
timbering of mines, and fuel. Besides the oaks to 
which I have referred, pine, fir, cedar, mahogany, rose- 



Mining and Agriculture 41 

wood, iron-wood and a dozen different kinds of other 
woods grow. 

Fruits of numerous kinds abound in the State, the 
climate lending itself peculiarly to its successful cul- 
tivation. There are some forty or fifty different kinds 
of fruits grown here, while, in regard to other useful 
plants, shrubs and trees, I may mention some thirty- 
two textile and eleven tanning plants; fifteen oleagi- 
nous plants; sixteen dye-woods; about eighty medicinal 
plants; twelve forage plants; eighteen aromatic plants; 
fifteen gums and resins, etc., etc. 

Naturally in a country so well served with water and 
having so fine and productive a soil, agriculture finds an 
encouraging field for development. I regard this factor 
as one of singular value to the mining interests, since I 
have always held the opinion that where agriculture and 
mining can march hand-in-hand it is of vast importance 
to allow them to do so, and to encourage their associa- 
tion in every legitimate manner. The one helps the 
other, and however much fanatics may assert that "the 
lust for gold" destroys all ambition to succeed in the 
more poorly paid pursuit of simple husbandry, I am 
prepared to prove, if necessary, that where, as in some 
parts of South Africa and New Zealand, mining has 
proceeded side-by-side with agriculture, the benefits 
arising for all classes of the community have been un- 
mistakable. 

It is stated by no less an authority than Mr. H. G. 
Ward, at one time the British charge d'affaires in Mex- 
ico, and the author of one of the most fascinating and in- 
formative works upon that country, that, without 
mining as an assistance, agriculture would be confined 



42 Mexico's Treasure-House 

to such a supply of the necessaries of hfe as each indi- 
vidual would have it in his heart to raise; districts, 
formerly among the richest in the known world, 
would be thrown forever out of cultivation; the great 
mining towns would become, without agriculture as an 
aid, what they were during the worst years of the 
Revolution; and the country would be so far thrown 
back in the career of civilization that the majority of its 
inhabitants would be compelled to lead a Nomadic life, 
and seek a precarious subsistence among their flocks 
and herds, like the Gaucho of the Pampas. 

So sensibly does Mr. Ward write of the close associa- 
tion between agriculture and mining that I feel im- 
pelled to quote from such an authority the few lines 
which run as follows: "I desire no better proof than 
that existing between the degraded situation of the 
husbandman or small landed-proprietor of New Spain 
(Mexico) in any district mthout an outlet, and that of 
a proprietor, however small, in the vicinity of the mines. 
The one is without wants, and almost without an idea 
of civilized life; clothed in a leather dress, or in the 
coarsest kind of home-made woollen manufacture, liv- 
ing in primitive simplicity, perhaps, but in primitive 
ignorance and brutality, too ; sunk in sloth, and incapa- 
ble of exertion, unless stimulated by some momentary 
excitement: while the other acquires wants daily, with 
the means of gratifying them; and grows industrious 
in proportion as the advantages which he derives from 
the fruits of his labor increase; his mind opens to the 
advantages of European arts; he seeks for his off- 
spring, at least, that education which had been denied to 
himself; and becomes gradually, with a taste for the 



Ward Upon Meooico 43 

delights of civilization, a more important member, him- 
self, of the civilized world. Who can see this, as I have 
seen it, without feeling, as I have felt, the importance, 
not only to Mexico, but to Europe of a branch of in- 
dustry capable of producing such beneficial effects? 
And alone capable of producing them; for Mexico 
without her mines, notwithstanding the fertility of her 
soil, and the vast amount of her former agricultural 
produce, can never rise to any importance in the scale of 
Nations." 

This was written in 1827, eighty years ago; but al- 
though at that time the home-manuf actiu-es of Mexico 
and her consequent prosperity had not attained any- 
thing like the dimensions which they have reached to- 
day, Mr. Ward's summing-up of the situation was ex- 
ceedingly accurate, and what he wrote is as true now as 
it was then. 

From my own experience I should say that not only is 
labor attracted to a locality where work both above- 
ground and below-ground is plentiful and well-paid, 
but as often as not the miners themselves are induced 
to remain in a district by the fact that their wives and 
children, where the latter are not also employed on the 
mines, as is the case in the Guanajuato district and in 
other parts of Mexico, are perhaps enabled to carry on a 
little agriculture as an additional and welcome source 
of income, while the thriving mining community pro- 
vides the best kind of market for the produce raised. 

So far as one can trace the history of latter-daj^ 
mining in Mexico — that is to say, subsequent to the 
declaration of Independence — there is no question that 
in every place where mining was conducted a demand 



44 Mexico's Treasure-House 

was created for every kind of agriculturai produce, 
which rose as the importance of the mines increased, and 
called gradually into existence a cultivation of which 
no trace was to be found before. Such was the progress 
of civilization and of agricultural industry throughout 
Mexico. 

Ward, to whom I have previously referred, declares 
that with the exception of the capital, which, as the seat 
of Government, derived its importance from other 
sources, and the towns of Puebla, Guadalajara, Morelia 
and Oaxaca, which were selected as the seats of the great 
episcopal establishments of the country, there was 
hardly a single town in Mexico that did not derive its 
origin directly or indirectly from the mines. From the 
enormous quantities of mules and horses employed in 
mining operations ( 14,000 were in daily use in Guana- 
juato alone) a rise in the price of maize occasioned an 
immediate reduction in all of the mining establishments. 

I know that mining in the opinions of some indi- 
viduals, no doubt perfectly conscientious and well- 
meaning, is "iniquitous"; and Lord Burleigh, the wise 
old Chancellor of Queen Elizabeth, strongly counselled 
men to depart from that "ungodly way of becoming 
rich by digging in the earth" and to betake themselves 
to cultivating it instead. But as I have attempted to 
prove, it is quite possible to pursue the occupations of 
mining and agriculture in the same district and at the 
same time, provided Nature has, as in the case of many 
of the mining districts in Mexico, generously supplied 
the means. In Guanajuato many promising agricul- 
tural tracts of country exist, and with the increase in the 
mining activity now to be observed on all sides, the fresh 




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The Trade of Guanajuato 45 

arrivals which this activity is attracting day by day, and 
the greatly augmented wealth of the whole population, 
agriculture can, and no doubt will, be vigorously prose- 
cuted, being bound to meet with practical encourage- 
ment from all the big mining corporations in the neigh- 
borhood. 

It must not, however, be assumed that mining is the 
summum honum of the whole country, or that it is the 
only industry which is pursued by the inhabitants. The 
fame of the Guanajuato mines, which has succeeded in 
reaching to the extremities of the earth, one might sup- 
pose had to some extent over-shadowed the several im- 
portant trades of which the State can boast. It would 
be no exaggeration to say that Guanajuato is the most 
prosperous mercantile centre of the Republic. The two 
big Mexican railways (the National and the Central) 
derive much of their valuable traffic from this portion of 
the country. The total value of the trade emanating from 
the State of Guanajuato may reasonably be put at some 
$67,000,000 U. S. Currency (or, say £13,400,000) per 
annum, which, for a population of a little over one mil- 
lion, is an excellent showing. The chief sources from 
which all this commercial industry is derived comprise, 
first and foremost, the minerals which go to Mexico, 
United States of America and Europe, and which rep- 
resent at least $20,000,000 U. S. Cy. (£4,000,000) ; 
then agricultural and other products $10,000,000 
(£2,000,000) , most of which find their way to the home 
states; thirdly, exports of industrial products $2,000,- 
000 U. S. Cy. (£400,000) ; again, imports from Mex- 
ico City, United States and Europe to the extent of 
$12,000,000 U. S. Cy.; about $3,000,000 (£600,000) 



46 Mexico's Treasure^House 

from other Mexican States, and the balance from purely- 
local trade. 

The principal exports, after minerals and agricultu- 
ral produce, are live stock, cotton goods, etc. ; while the 
imports comprise, from Mexico City, Europe and the 
United States, such commodities as groceries, ready- 
made clothing, textiles, hardware, drugs, arms and am- 
munition, hats, canned goods, agricultiu'al and mining 
machinery and tools, etc., etc. There is a considerable 
proportion of inter-state commerce, comprising such 
articles as the inevitable pulque, mezcal, tequila, fruits, 
coffee, etc., etc. 

In the State of Guanajuato there are to be found nu- 
merous important and prosperous industrial estabhsh- 
ments. No fewer than 350 woollen mills exist, their an- 
nual output representing 90,000 pieces of cloth, and 
45,000 yards of carpet and other fabrics of this kind, all 
of which sell very readily. There are 853 cotton mills, 
producing a respectable average of 200,500 pieces of 
cotton or "manta"; 46,000 pieces of comboyas; 550,000 
rebozos; and 100,000 kilograms of twine. These busy 
factories themselves use over 815,000 kilograms of wool 
and 1,000,000 kilograms of cotton, in the raw state, 
yearly. There are in addition 72 flour mills (using both 
steam and hydraulic motive-power), which produce 
15,000,000 kilograms of flour per annum, as well as lin- 
seed mills, harness and saddlery factories, potteries, 
powder-works, distilleries, tanneries, foundries, etc. 

From all this it will be readily seen that, even were 
the mining industry to be completely eliminated from 
consideration, the State of Guanajuato would still re- 
main one of the most prominent and important sections 



Divisions and Towns 47 

%f the Republic, a state of affairs which Mr. Ward and 
writers of his epoch could never have contemplated; 
but, taken in conjunction with the vastly promising in- 
dustry of mining which to-daj^ looms up more con- 
spicuously than ever, the prosperity of Guanajuato may 
be said to be almost unequalled in the whole Republic 
of Mexico. 

The State is spht up into Divisions or Departments, 
of which there are five. These, again, are sub-divided 
into 32 Partidos, the Departments being : 

Allende (with 4 partidos and 47,000 inhabitants) ; 

Celaya (with 11 partidos and 46,500 inhabitants) ; 

Sierra Gorda (with 3 partidos and 33,500 inhabi- 
tants) ; 

Leon (with 4 partidos and 194,000 inhabitants) ; 

The principal towns in the State may be summarized 
and located as follows: 

Cities and Towns. Department. 

Allende i ^^^ Miguel Allende, 

' [Dolores Hidalgo. 

r Celaya, 

Celaya Acamabaro, 

•^ 1 Apaseo, 

[Salvatierra. 

Guanajuato, 

Cuitzeo de Abasolo, 

Irapuato, 

La Paz, 

Salamanca, 

Silao, 

Valle de Santiago. 



Guanajuato 



Sierra Gorda 



48 Mexico's Treasure-House 

J JLeon de Los Aldamas, 

^^^ [San Francisco del Rincon. 

San Luis de la Paz, 
San Jose de Iturbide, 
Xichu, 

Santa Catarina, 
Victoria. 

There is no State in the Republic of Mexico which 
possesses a better system of railway communication than 
that of Guanajuato. Wide as it is, however, the thriv- 
ing condition of the country and its astounding rate of 
progress have already rendered an augmentation neces- 
sary ; and, probably, before the present year is comple- 
ted a further improvement will have been effected by 
bringing the Central line of railway right into Guana- 
juato City itself. At present, the Central main line stops 
at Silao, about 11 miles from the outskirts of Guanajua- 
to, and whence, on a branch line, both passengers and 
goods are conveyed to Marfil, where a mule tram line 
joins on and brings everybody and everything into the 
city. Naturally much delay is occasioned by so slow 
a process of locomotion, and the advent of the new rail- 
way communication, with a Central depot in the heart of 
the busy city itself, will mean an immense benefit for 
the commercial and mining community at large. 

The Mexican Central Railway crosses the State of 
Guanajuato in three different directions (1) from East 
to Northwest, on the line from Mexico City to Ciudad 
Juarez, or Paseo del Norte (154 kilometers) ; (2) from 
the centre to the Southwest, on the branch line Irapuato 
to Guadalajara, (84 kilometers) ; (3) from the centre to 
the Northwest, on the branch line from Silao to Guana- 
juato (23 kilometers). 



The Future Production of Gold 49 

The Mexican National Lines run from Southeast to 
North on the hne from Mexico City to Nuevo Laredo, a 
distance of 271 kilometers, while the Salamanca and 
Valle de Santiago R. R. has an extension of 18 to 20 
kilometers in theMunicipality of Salamanca. There are 
also some 14 kilometers of street railway, while a num- 
ber of moderately good wagon roads traverse the State 
in many directions. The telephone and telegraph 
systems are, all things considered, in good and efficient 
operation, while a particularly well-conducted postal 
service is in force. 

With regard to the future production of gold in 
Mexico, and in which the mines of Guanajuato have so 
much concern, the following observations of Minister J. 
Y. Limantour, in his report on Mexico's financial posi- 
tion for the year 1904-5, are worthy of reproduction: — 

"Considerable importance attaches to the increase in 
the gold production, which last year alone showed a gain 
of $3,000,000 gold, equivalent in our currency to $6,000," 
000. The recent heavy investments of capital in gold 
mines augur a still more considerable development of 
this important source of wealth, and the substantial 
diminution of fiscal burdens will curtail the frauds that 
have been perpetrated on a large scale in the exporta- 
tion of the yellow metal without payment of duties. For 
these reasons much is still to be expected from the gold 
production." 

It should be added that on a subsequent page of the 
same Report the Minister estimates the probable produc- 
tion of gold in 1904-5, "in the old gold coins, of $14,- 
429,223," and further remarks that, "calculating the 
value of the old gold peso at $2.05 of our present cur- 



50 Mexico's Treasure-House 

rency, which approximately was its average value dur- 
ing last fiscal year, the above sum represents in pesos of 
our present monetary system $29,579,908.07." 

The second diagram which I give, and which is bor- 
rowed from the same source, as will be easily recognized, 
comprises seven main perpendicular divisions, each in- 
cluding four years total gold production, commencing 
with the period 1877-81 and ending with the period of 
four years 1902-5. At the margin on either side of the 
diagram a scale of milHon dollars is seen, rising from 
zero by equal divisions of five miUion dollars to a total 
of forty-five millions at the summit, the total output 
for each of four years having been computed from sta- 
tistics. Vertical black columns, corresponding by their 
varying heights to the amount for each period, appear in 
each division, and in juxtaposition with the scale in the 
margin. 

It will be seen from the total given of the produc- 
tion of gold during the four-year period 1877-81 on the 
chart, that, compared with that recorded for the last 
four years (1902-5), the production has increased by 
no less a sum than $42,383,203 (approximately, <£8,- 
476,640), or an increase of 118.3 per cent, in twenty- 
eight years. It should be added that in all cases on the 
chart where dollars have been converted into "<£" ster- 
ling, the basis has been the standard gold peso, valued at 
about four shillings. 

The "insets" on the diagram, dealing with the expor- 
tation as well as with the production of gold in Mexico 
for the last five years (1901-5), are not in need, appar- 
ently, of explanation. 



Note. — The fiscal year ends on June 30 of each year. 




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Chapter III. 



The "Patio" Process of Treating Ores. — Description of Methods, — 
Pan Amalgamation. — Comparisons. — The Growths of Mining 
Camps. — Great Revival in Guanajuato. — New Stamps Being 
Erected. — Companies and Mines Interested. — Blaisdell Process 
Introduced. — Humboldt and Guanajuato Mines. — A Curious 
Result of his Advocacy. — Silver as it is Found in Mexico and 
Europe. — ^A Native Author and Mexican Silver Ores. 

IT is customary for those who think they know a 
great deal about mining, and with whom "a Httle 
knowledge is a dangerous thing," to condemn the 
"patio" process, which has been in vogue in Mexico for 
many hundreds of years, and is stiU to be found working 
upon many important and successful mines in this 
country. Here is one hacienda, "The Pm^isima," in 
Guanajuato working the "patio" to-day. Even the most 
sceptical and critical must admit that "defective" and 
"antiquated" as they consider this process of treatment 
to be, it has at least produced some wonderful results. 
It is of course attributable to the richness of the 
ores which have been treated, that they should have 
yielded such a bountiful return. Still, something has 
to be said for the much-despised "patio" treatment 
after aU; and I thus deem it desirable to describe it 
in more or less detail before proceeding to consider the 
new and more complete system of treating the ores now 
being almost generally introduced. 

We first hear of the "patio" process as far back as 
1557. Who the pioneer was that introduced it, history 
fails to agree; nor, indeed, is the name much of an in- 
dication, since, if it meant anything at all, it signified 

Page 51 



52 Mexico's Treasure-House 

the place — ^viz: the "patio" or open courtyard of the 
Mexican hacienda — where the operations were carried 
on. Practically some of the methods in force 350 years 
ago remain unchanged to-day. As the poet Schiller tells 
us — "a deep meaning often lies in old customs"; and 
certainly there was meaning enough in the old methods 
of mining in Mexico. 

The ore, when carried to the surface, was first broken 
by hand, generally at the mouth of the tunnel or shaft, 
both men, women and little children being employed 
for the purpose. In this condition the rock was con- 
veyed to the hacienda, for, at that time, every mine 
was connected somehow, either by direct proprietor- 
ship or in partnership, with an hacienda, and there the 
ore was pulverized by means of Chilean mills, and 
"arrastres" run by mule-power. The ore was thus 
gradually, but somewhat tediously, crushed finer and 
finer, and even slimed. From the "arrastres" the stuff 
was carried to the "patio," and there, upon a wide 
stone-covered floor or pavement, it was massed in 
heaps, averaging from 20 to 400 tons. When a suffi- 
ciently large quantity had been accumulated, the whole 
mass of stuffs was called a "torta." As is generally 
known, the ore, as it comes from the mine, contains a 
certain quantity of moisture, sometimes great and at 
others only slight; but it has to be partially eliminated 
before final treatment, and thus it becomes necessary to 
expose the "torta" to the air and heat of the sun for the 
purpose of being di'ied, but not too much. In this state 
the mass covers the pavement of the "patio" to a depth 
ranging from 12" to 18". 

The operation next adopted is the adding of salt to 



Description of Methods 53 

the ore in quantities which must be regulated by the 
character of the ore itself, and which only experience can 
successfully direct. ]Now are introduced the patient, 
plodding beasts, either horses or mules, which, yoked to- 
gether, are driven around and around, and through and 
through the mass of slimy stuff. This goes on for hours 
at a time, the mixing becoming more and more com- 
plete. The stuff is then left for a period to settle, when 
sulphate of copper and iron are thrown in and thorough- 
ly mixed with it, the amount again depending upon the 
nature of the ores being treated and regulated by the 
ripe experience of the operator. Quicksilver is also add- 
ed in varying quantities, and a again a quotum of salt. 
The stirring process proceeds as before for a further 
number of hours, as a rule the intervals between the stir- 
ring being from twelve to twenty-f om* hours. The whole 
period needed for treating a"torta"is from 10 to 40 days. 
Many factors in determining the exact amount of time 
have to be considered, — such as the particular character 
of the ores, the season of the year and the amount of 
sunshine or rain. But when the time is considered suffi- 
cient for the process to have been completed, the pulp is 
washed away, the amalgam recovered and retorted and 
the bullion melted into bars or ingots. 

This process, it must be remembered, was used almost 
entirely for silver recovery. Apparently, the old-time 
miners troubled themselves but little about the gold in 
their ores; but, to-day, it is the yellow metal which is 
proving the magnet of attraction to the fields of Mex- 
ico generally, and to those of Guanajuato in particular. 
I doubt very much whether the "patio" process ever 
could have proved a great success in treating gold- 



54 Mexico's Treasure-House 

bearing ores, even if it had been tried systematically, 
owing to the presence of sulphates. But for silver- 
bearing ores, as I have said, the process was found satis- 
factory, and is still so considered to-day. In those good 
old days, when time was not counted of any importance 
and an abundance of cheap labor was available, the pro- 
cess doubtless answered well enough. As much as $50,- 
000.00 or $100,000.00 were locked-up in a mass of 
"torta" for any period ranging between two and two 
and one-half months at a time. But here, again, the old- 
time Mexican thought — "let the World sUde, let the 
World go, a fig for care, and a fig for woe; if I can't 
pay, why I can owe, and death makes equal the high and 
low." 

That is a kind of indifference which is dear to the 
Southern heart. 

It is impossible to travel through the country around 
the Guanajuato District, or that of any other mining 
centre in Mexico, without having one's attention drawn 
to the nimiber of haciendas, which at one time were no 
doubt busily engaged in conducting their "patio" pro- 
cess, but which to-day are in a state of ruin. Practically 
every hacienda had a "patio," where the owner treated 
either his own or his neighbor's ores, probably both. One 
can still see the cracked old pavements of the once thriv- 
ing "patio" and the disused "arrastre" beds, many of 
which were run by water-power. As the mines change 
ownership, and the old order maketh way for the new, 
the "patio" process disappears. 

Next to the "patio" process followed the stamp-mill 
and pan-amalgamation. Here, practically the same 
chemicals were employed, while artificial heat was also 



Pan- Amalgamation 55 

introduced. The pan process has also now been con- 
demned as "antiquated," and as a matter of fact it has 
never succeeded in maintaining the high percentage of 
saving that the "patio" process secured, the character of 
the ore and other conditions being equal. Half-a-dozen 
diif erent mining men will supply half-a-dozen different 
explanations of this; but probably the real reason of 
the loss may be attributed to the presence of particles of 
iron in the pulp arising from the attrition of the stamps 
and pans. Some experts consider that the length of 
time to which the ore is exposed to the action of the 
mercury and the added advantage of the sun's regular 
heat, are among the reasons telhng most in favor of the 
"patio" process. If the saving of the precious grains of 
gold and silver is not as large in the pan process, it is, 
on the other hand, far more expeditious, and that is a 
matter of considerable importance. 

I believe that there was until quite recently a certain 
mill in the Tlalpujahua District which was working on 
the pan principle; I refer to the San Rafael. The 
Conception Mill was built there to treat the ores from 
the mine of that name. It had twenty stamps and a 
full equipment of pans, settlers and concentrators. An- 
other mill of a similar kind was until a short time back 
to be found at the National Mine in the same district. 
In Guanajuato the Consolidated Company until lately 
ran a mill on the pan-amalgamation process, but this has 
now been changed to a cyanide plant concentrating 
above the tank. Other pan mills have also been con- 
verted, and the cyanide process of treatment substituted. 

No one who has not personally witnessed the marvel- 
lous growth of mining-camps can form any accurate 



56 Meocico's Treasure-House 

idea of the rapidity with which these come into exist- 
ence. Like Jonah's gourd, they "come up in a night," 
and also like that eccentric vegetable very often "dis- 
appear in a night," the exact period of their duration on 
earth depending upon the amount of precious metal 
found therein and the abihty of the human delvers to get 
it out. This is the history of most new mining camps, 
and I have seen rt repeated in the early days of Coolgar- 
die and Hannan's Field in Western Australia, in Colo- 
rado, in New Zealand and in South Africa. But Guana- 
juato is not a new camp, having been founded as far 
back as 1554, and was famous as an ore-producer even 
in those days. Nevertheless Guanajuato is to-day show- 
ing some indications of that revival of interest in mining 
which characterized the early days of Western Australia 
and South Africa, to say nothing of the Klondike and 
West Africa, but without their f everishness, uncertainty 
and other discom-aging features. The progress which 
has again set in in Guanajuato after a period of in- 
activity, or I might say intermission, extending back 
into the centuries, is as well-defined as it is well-founded. 
An evidence of this may be found in the increased num- 
ber of stamps which have been erected, and those which 
are in course of erection. A dozen years back, perhaps, 
there were not more than fifty stamps working in this 
district. To-day there are several hundreds, and, by the 
time this himible work will find its way into the hands of 
my readers, I expect that some seven hundred stamps 
will be dropping day and night in this one district. I 
append a Hst of stamps which are actually in operation, 
together with those which, I have learned upon high 
authority, will be working within a few months' time: 




u 


<^ 


Ti 


l^; 


< 


<j 




1^ 


K 


O 


a 




jj 






>^ 












V3 




U 



!7: 






Stamps, Actual and Contemplated 



57 









Stamps in 






Stamps at 


Course of 


Name of Company 




Work. 


Erection. 


The Peregrina M. & M. 


Co. 


20 


100 


The Cubo 




20 




The Nayal 




10 


10 


The Central 




5 


20 


Gto. Cons. M. & M. Co. 




60 


20 


Gto. Redn. & Mines Co. 




80 


80 


The San Prospero 






40 


Gto. Amalgamated Gold Mines — 


100 


Noria Alta 






20 


Pinguico 






40 


Cedro 






100 


Refugio 






50 


San Cayetano 




30 


20 



In giving the above figures, I wish it to be clearly un- 
derstood that the stamps set forth in the second column 
are merely estimated, and are quite as likely to be added- 
to as deducted-from. Thus, while some of the mines 
may not proceed sufficiently far in their development 
to warrant the erection of so many stamps this year, 
others, such for instance as the group belonging to the 
Guanajuato Reduction & Mines Co. may exceed the 
number I have set down, for I am authoritatively in- 
formed that, if certain arrangements go through, the 
number of stamps erected by this company will be 
1,000. In any case it is obvious that the number of new 
stamps in the Guanajuato District will soon be very con- 
siderable, while, as will be seen from the detailed descrip- 
tions of the various mines in this district, several costly 
installations such as that of the Blaisdell process and 



58 Mexico's Treasure-House 

the MacArthur-Forrest process of cyaniding, will have 
been introduced before the close of the present year, 
where they as yet have been absent. 

It is a small wonder that mining prospectuses, emana- 
ting from Guanajuato, so assiduously quote the opinions 
of the late respected Professor Baron von Humboldt, 
since, owing to the enthusiastic manner in which he de- 
scribed this district, declaring it, at the close of the 
eighteenth century, to "have yielded one-fifth of the 
total amount of silver then current in the world," some- 
thing like a boom in Mexican mining enterprises set in 
about 1825. We have no Professor von Humboldt to- 
day to sing the praises of Guanajuato, but we have 
something which is a great deal better — and that is a 
record of actual production and an ocular proof of the 
richness of the country which leaves nothing to the im- 
agination and calls for no romantic description upon the 
part of gifted writers. Guanajuato can stand firmly 
upon its own bottom; and upon the future it can sub- 
stantially lean without any fear of a fall. 

The geological character of the country remains 
naturally exactly the same as when the invaluable von 
Himiboldt described it in his studies of Mexican min- 
eralogy. That authority declared "the common feld- 
spar of the country belongs to the most ancient forma- 
tions, which furnish twice as much silver as Saxony." 
We frequently discover only vitreous feldspar in the 
porphyries of Mexico. The veins of silver in the Real de 
Catorce, El Doctor, Xachiz, near Zimapan, traverse the 
Alpine limestone, and the rock reposes on a pondin with 
sihcious cement, which may be considered as the most 
ancient of secondary formations. 



A Wonderful Production 59 

The veins of Guanajuato contain common quartz, 
carbonate of lime, pearl spar, splintery hornstone, cal- 
careous spar, a little sulphate of baryta and brown spar. 
The most abundant metals are prismatic black silver, 
red planet or vitreous silver, mixed with native silver 
and silber-schwartz. In the Catorce mines the gangue is 
decomposed, and is found to contain lime, spar, red 
ochre and muriated and native silver. One mine alone on 
the famous "Mother Vein" of Guanajuato, since the be- 
ginning of the 16th century, produced $300,000,000, and 
during ten years of its greatest activity about $60,000,- 
000. The provincial treasurer's receipts from eleven of 
the principal mines during a period of eleven years, show 
a production of $80,000,000. All this white metal was 
shipped down to Vera Cruz, and the exports from that 
port annually equalled two-thirds of the silver extracted 
from all the mines of the world. 

Although magnificent silver producers, it would be 
incorrect, as so many authors have done, to describe the 
Mexican silver mines "as the richest in the world." Rich 
they undoubtedly are and must continue to be for many 
years to come, but there are in Europe to-day some mines 
which are even richer. I refer to the Konsberg mine in 
Sweden and the Schneeberg mine in Saxony, where 
large masses of soHd silver have been found from time 
to time, whereas the Mexican metal has been won from 
ores only and but seldom found in "chunks." 

As a matter of fact the silver mines of Mexico are 
particularly valuable from the point of view of the al- 
most unhmited amount of ore from which the metal is 
extracted, as well as the possibility of mining even very 
poor grade ores, and the cheapness of the native labor. 



60 Mexico's Treasure-House 

Records prove that rich pockets of silver have been en- 
countered in Mexico, as in Peru and elsewhere, but, as 
I have said, it is the abundance of the low grade ore 
which reaUy constitutes the richness of Mexican mines. 
One Mexican author — Gorces — even went so far as to 
declare in his work "Nueva Tesrica del Beneficio de los 
Metales, Mexico," that "Mexican ores are for the most 
part so poor that the three million marca which the do- 
main produces in good years are won from ten million 
quintals of ore." I may add that a marca of silver equal- 
led 8 ounces, and a quintal (sometimes written "chuin- 
tal") was equal to 100 lbs., or 4 arrobas. In all prob- 
ability Gorces drew his conclusions from one district 
only and, therefore, formed them falsely; certainly had 
he known Guanajuato as he should have, and as other 
authors then and since have known it, he would never 
have fallen into that gross error of describing Mexican 
ores generally as "poor." If these ores were "poor," 
I would like to know what he was pleased to consider 
"rich"? 



Chapter IV. 



The Mexican Labor Supply. — The Mexican and American Miner 
Compared.— Relative Merits and Demerits Considered. — The 
Peon and Public Holidays. — But 200 Working Days out of the 
Year. — Old Time Wages and Wage-Sheets. — High Cost of 
Mining. — The Meaning of a "Bonanza." — Hard Labor in the 
Mines. — The "Mozo" — How Peons are Usually Handled. — 
The Influence of the Parish Priest. — Brickmaking. — How the 
Peon Lives. — What he Eats and What he Wears. 

NO one who has had anything to do with mining in 
any part of the world, who has ever read any- 
thing about the pursuit of mining or has ever 
held a single share in a mining concern, need be told that 
next to the possession of a mine at all comes the all im- 
portant question of efficient and cheap labor. The Gua- 
najuato mines are especially fortunate both in the quan- 
tity and the quality of their labour supply, and although 
the rate of payment is to-day more than double what it 
was say twenty or even ten years ago, it is still suf- 
ficiently modest to leave the employers perfectly easy in 
their minds as to its present and future condition. 

People who study the pay-roll sheets of Mexican 
mines and compare the figures with those of, say, Amer- 
ican miners, observing what is to them the extraordinary 
anomaly of a Mexican receiving but 75 cents as against 
an American's $3.50 gold a day, are apt to miss the very 
important point that while the former is "absurdly 
cheap" he is less than a quarter as good or as reliable. It 
is to be remembered that a Mexican laborer in the mines 
is only about one-half to two-thirds as efficient as an 

Page 61 



62 Meaoico's Treasure-House 

American miner, while his nmnber of "Saints Days'* 
(over 140 in the year) render him less reliable as an in- 
strmnent than his Protestant brother- workman. Apart 
from these facts, however, the Mexican miner is a good 
and fairly reliable worker, and in Guanajuato he is par- 
ticularly plentiful. His rate of pay is 75c., Mexican Cy. 
(say one shilling and sixpence) a day, and in certain 
classes of work; such, for instance, as assorting, grading 
and masonry construction (which is paid at even lower 
rates), the Mexican is a distinct gain. Men receive an 
average payment of 75c. a day, women 50c. and boys 
25c., all Mexican Cy. — surely a moderate enough rate 
when the fairly long hours of labor are considered! 

Such things as strikes and "unions" are unusual, the 
Mexican being, as a rule, a perfectly tractable and fairly 
industrious worker, but requiring a careful overseer. 

A mine manager of many years' experience in Mexico 
has placed on record his conviction that, in regard to 
labor efficiency, taken all round, and considering care- 
fully all the pros and all the cons the Mexican miner 
is rather preferable to the American. Whereas the for- 
mer is easily managed and does nearly all classes of 
work fairly well, especially excelling in working out and 
exhausting bodies of ore, the white worker demands 
much higher wages, quite disproportionate to the charac- 
ter and the amount of work that he does, and is addition- 
ally much more difficult to manage. While the Mexican 
can work underground well and easily and is an expert 
in stone and masonry work, the American is not skilled 
in underground stone work, although he is good at tim- 
bering, while the Mexican is not. On the other hand 
the Mexican, if he gets the chance, will become a thief 



;:^^vSi>^««|.s^tin| ' \^,a 




O 



O 



The Mexican Miner 63 

and steal quantities of ore and tools from time to time, 
while he is prone to drunkenness and to occasional loaf- 
ing. The American miner, while far from a saint so far 
as peculations are concerned, and loving as he does his 
glass of whiskey whenever he can get it, is on the whole 
more reliable, and having a due sense of honor, may be 
trusted with safety where a Mexican certainly could not. 

One of the greatest objections to employing Mexican 
laborers is the enormous number of feast days which 
they persist in keeping, and which leaves them little 
more than 200 days out of the year for work. Both the 
farm laborers and most of the miners insist upon leav- 
ing their tasks on all Sundays and Mondays of the year; 
all feast-days of a national character; all feast days or- 
dained by the Church ; the day of the patron saint of the 
hacienda where they work; feast days of the patron 
saints of the nearby villages and churches ; birthdays of 
the owners of the hacienda, and of the administrator; 
their own birthdays and those of the members of their 
famihes; days upon which the baptisms, weddings and 
funerals of the members of their families or of their 
friends take place ; and on any other excuse, frivolous or 
serious, that may present itself. Things are somewhat 
improving, however, since several managers of mines 
and plantations now make it a rule to dismiss altogether 
any man who too frequently absents himself from his 
duties, a com*se of procedure which is having a markedly 
beneficial effect, especially since the Church itself is 
opposed to such absence except on its own solemn feast- 
days. 

It is a source of wonderment to some how the former 
mine owners managed to make such colossal fortunes 



64 Mexico's Treasure-House 



from their properties, considering the heavy expenses to 
which they were put for labor, machinery, fuel etc., all 
combined, and which brought the total cost of their 
working up to something like $15 or $18 per metric ton, 
compared with but $5 to-day. 

It cost them from $1.50 to $3 a ton to have the ore 
dumped on the "patio" and handsorted; all the ore from 
the stopes was carried painfully and slowly on men's 
backs to the shafts, dumped and rehandled there. The 
extremely hard physical exertion which this part of the 
proceedings entailed upon the luckless individuals carry- 
ing it out would horrify the "worthy souls" in England 
who lament the "slavery" of the Chinese employed on the 
Rand. Theirs is child's play compared to this arduous 
carrying of heavy sacks full of ore up an uneven, pre- 
cipitous stair of stone steps, cut at uncertain distances, 
no more than 6 or 8 inches wide and as steep as 10 or 
15 inches. Walking up or down such subterranean stair- 
ways as these, with no burden to carry, is trying enough ; 
but to attempt it when heavily loaded, as I have de- 
scribed, is the most painful and exhausting labor imag- 
inable. While the poor peons thus employed were mis- 
erably paid, the pay-rolls generally, owing to the number 
of men at work, were exceedingly heavy, amounting to 
from $4,000 to $5,000 weekly. Mr. Dwight Furness, 
one of the best-informed men in Guanajuato and the 
United States Consul there, has stated that even in the 
mines worked during the past ten years and under com- 
paratively modern conditions, like the Esperanza and 
Cedro, the cost of mining averaged over $12 per ton 
of ore to the mills. In addition to this, the mills, being 
nearly all located on the banks of the Guanajuato River 



When A Mine Is In ''Bonanza'' 65 

on account of the water-supply as much as for security, 
heavy freight charges for transportation of the ores to 
the mills had to be encountered, being never less than 
$1.50 per ton and amounting to as much as $3.50 per 
ton. In those days it was the mills that made most of the 
money, Mr. Furness telling us that the mines were 
almost universally worked under the old "avio" or lease, 
all profits, except in times of bonanza being made in 
these mills, the mines in the course of time being looked 
upon merely as so many feeders to supply ore to the 
mills. The word "bonanza" — which is really a sea term 
-7— as applied here, I may point out, means a mine in 
such a state as to cover all the expenses of working it, 
and to leave a considerable annual profit to the pro- 
prietor. It implies no particular sum, for there may 
have been a "bonanza" of a million or a "bonanza" of 
only 20,000 dollars ; but it always signifies among Mex- 
ican miners that things are proceeding satisfactorily — 
in short that they are "in the trade-winds," with stud- 
ding sails set below and aloft and every prospect of a 
prosperous voyage. 

Recalling the extremely arduous existences passed by 
the Mexicans employed in mining under their Spanish 
masters, and in the early days of their freedom from 
practical slavery, brings up the question as to what sort 
of labor the mines are enabled to depend upon to-day. 
This may be said to be abundant and on the whole cheap, 
or at least it appeared to be so until the several pros 
and cons in connection with native and white labor 
are carefully considered. Upon this phase of the ques- 
tion I have already commented (see page 62), thus 
affording opportunities for comparing the opinions 



66 Meosico's Treasure-House 

of various mine-managers who have had great experi- 
ence with Mexican peon workers. 

From what I have seen of the poen laborers at the 
mines and haciendas in Mexico, I should say they are a 
tractable and easily managed people, seldom rebelling 
against recognized authority, although upon occasions 
they have been known to indulge in rioting. A handful 
of local police will, however, speedily put an end to an 
outbreak, and a few cracked skulls the following day, 
combined with a broken-down door or so, are usually the 
sum total of damage sustained. 

Especially useful and amiable is the hody-mozOj of 
whom every mine possesses at least one, and as many 
as half-a-dozen. Upon long or short cross-country 
journeys on horse back the mozo is found simply in- 
valuable and quite tireless. He thinks but little of him- 
self, and never until every want and wish of his master 
have been met and gratified. Although to-day, when 
travelling in almost any part of Mexico, if I except the 
states of Sonora and Yucatan in some portions, is at- 
tended with no more danger than would be found to 
exist in Broadway or Piccadilly, the mozo is not re- 
quired to defend his master from brigandish attacks, 
he would be perfectly ready to do so at a moment's 
notice, and to lay down his life for him if necessary. 
Although times have changed and are changing day by 
day, the mozo remains just the same faithful, trust- 
worthy and careful servant, not over intelligent, maybe, 
or over cleanly in appearance, but as loyal and as de- 
pendable as one could meet anywhere in the wide world. 

All the great estates or haciendas in Mexico have their 
mozos as well as their peon labour. Most of this is 



The Mexican Peon As He Is 67 

hereditary, and almost as much of an inheritance as the 
estate or hacienda itself. The laborers here are ads- 
cripti gleboe; the owner of the hacienda is their feudal 
lord ; they seek and obey no authority but his, and unless 
forcibly turned away they would seldom think of leaving 
him and his employraent. So far, then, as the supply of 
such labor is concerned Mexico is peculiarly fortunate. 

As an individual, the Mexican peon is not a loveable 
character — except for his fidelity. He is much like a 
child in many ways, and has to be frequently treated as 
one. He even fails to resent a chastisement from his em- 
ployer, provided his conscience tells him that he has de- 
served it. I have seen a peon, knocked down by a heavy 
blow on the jaw from the fist of his enraged master, 
simply pick himself up more surprised than angry, and 
depart without the least evidence of any resentment. On 
the other hand a word of encouragement or a courteous 
"buenos dias" when met on the road, brings a smile of 
pleasure and gratification to his face, the genuineness of 
which is unmistakable. 

The peon is slow by nature, very improvident, being 
practically born and invariably dying in debt, greatly 
addicted to drunkenness from indulging in too much of 
his beloved pulque, and spending his slender earnings 
upon cock-fighting and betting on lottery chances. He 
is seldom able to control himself under great provoca- 
tion, and the use of the knife is painfully frequent even 
in the cities, being only rarely punished (as it certainly 
should be) by death. 

Perhaps one of the greatest faults possessed by the 
Mexican miner-peon is his thieving propensity. A very 
keen eye has to be continually kept upon him, otherwise 



68 Mexico's Treasure-House 

every tool in the mine would disappear in time, and 
great quantities of rich ore also. When the disappear- 
ance of the mining tools becomes unusually serious, the 
manager pays a visit to the parish priest, formulates a 
complaint, and then patiently awaits the favorable re- 
sults which he knows will come. 

The priest is generously treated by the mine owners 
and managers, for his personal influence is enormous and 
practically indispensable. He, on the other hand, could 
barely exist but for the "remembrances" of which he 
from time to time is the recipient at the hands of the 
mine-proprietors. So, on the Sunday following the theft 
of the tools, the priest preaches a solemn and soul-stir- 
ring sermon. With appropriate dramatic gesture he re- 
lates how "a certain dream" the previous night had at- 
tended him, "in which the faces and forms of certain 
among his flock came out clearly, faces and forms of 
those who had stolen wickedly the tools belonging to 
such and such a company, which paid them wages for 
their labor, but whom they shamefully robbed in return! 
How could he with all his prayers and penances hope to 
save from Hell's fires the souls of those who thus sin- 
fully stole the company's tools?" 

The next day those mining tools reappear as silently 
and mysteriously as they had disappeared, and let us 
hope many a repentant soul has thus been saved from 
perdition. 

Long before the Spaniards came to Mexico the native 
races had travelled far upon the road to civilization; of 
this there is abundant evidence to-day. Their present 
backward condition may be attributed to the cruel perse- 
cutions, slavery and oppression which they had to un- 



Makers of Bricks 69 



dergo at the hands of their Christian conquerors. For 
three hundred years they were kept in dense ignorance 
by the priests, their minds being alone filled with the 
most degrading superstitions. Is it, therefore, any 
wonder that the peon of to-day is but little better than 
his forefather intellectually, and can it be marvelled at 
that he is more successfully approached and controlled 
through fear and threats? The semi-torpid condition of 
the peon class is more the outcome of abuse and neglect 
than any natural defect of intelligence on their part. 
The next ten years, I should say, are destined to effect 
some change among the rising generation, but the 
evolution of the Mexican peon will be a slow and pain- 
ful one from an educational and social point of view. 

It is interesting to watch the peons at mines and on 
the haciendas making their adobe bricks, reminding one 
strongly of a scene out of the Bible, but not at all of the 
process described by Walt Whitman in his "Song of the 
Broad-axe," — "The bricks one after another, each laid 
so worlanan-like in its place, and set with a knock of 
the trowel handle." 

The peons use certain kinds of earth, tough and pos- 
sessing special qualities known to themselves. They mix 
the earth with plenty of water until the mass resembles 
a thin kind of mortar. Cut straw is then added, and 
when this has been well mixed up in the mud, it is ready 
to be converted into bricks. The further process is sim- 
plicity itself. A frame, generally 24 x 18 inches, is used, 
which is divided by a cross-board into two even halves. 
This frame is placed flat upon the ground and the wet, 
earthy mixture is just shoveled into the two partitions, 
the top or overflow is scraped off*, the frame work lifted 



70 Mexico's Treasure-House 

and the two bricks are left to dry in the sun. They are 
fully twice as large and about as thick as an English or 
an American-made brick, and of a dirty brown color. 
A skilful and industrious adohero (as the Mexican brick- 
maker is called) can easily make from 100 to 300 bricks 
a day. These are left for a couple of days to dry, being 
turned once or twice by hand. When sufficiently firm 
to stand upon their edges, they dry much faster. 

Until some few years ago, practically all the mine 
buildings, as well as the houses in the interior towns of 
Mexico, were constructed of these adobe bricks, and 
some towns to-day still have some 90 per cent, of their 
buildings thus constructed. 

It takes but little to sustain life in the Mexican peon, 
and it is astonishing to find these puny-looking, under- 
fed men carrying enormously heavy burdens, which no 
bulky English or American navvy would care to 
shoulder. The staple food of the peon is the tortilla, a 
flat, round cake, soft and doughy, made of coarsely- 
crushed maize. In the condition in which it is eaten by 
the Mexicans, roughly mixed and only sHghtly baked, 
and filled with a greasy mixture of hot chile and 
chopped-up onions, it is not particularly palatable 
to the average European or American. But these same 
tortillas, well mixed and properly baked, are agreeable 
enough, and when eaten with butter, having been pre- 
viously toasted to a nice crispness, they are even 
delicious. 

The peon rarely tastes meat; but when he does in- 
dulge in this luxury it is not the choicest portions of the 
animal that he can afford to buy. Tortillas for break- 
fast, dinner and supper, day in and day out all the year 



The Peons' Costumes 71 

around, form his main and in fact only refreshment, but 
apparently he thrives upon the treatment. Clothes cost 
him little or nothing, and house rent but a mere trifle. 
The male peon usually wears a loosely fitting suit of 
white cloth, — originally white, that is to say, and any old 
pair of sandals that he can pick up. His hat is a wonder- 
ful creation in size, being of the "Mother Goose" style 
known to us mainly through the pantomimes, and as 
dirty as the rest of his attire. His inevitable companion 
is his blanket, which he carries about with him all day 
and sleeps in at night. These blankets are usually of a 
cheap and but thinly- woven material, and can afford but 
little real warmth. The color varies, but for every blue, 
brown or other hue, one sees a hundred of bright red, 
that being the color mostly favored by the wearers. 
The women's costumes are of cheap and sober-colored 
prints — blue, brown and black; except upon holidays 
and feast days, when both women and girls adorn them- 
selves in all the colors of the rainbow, adding much 
brightness and animation to the street scenes thereby. 
Some of the women and little children wear sandals, 
but many may be found barefooted. When not wearing 
the shawl-mantilla, women use the same steeple-crowned 
hats as the men and boys, these costing only a very few 
centavos a piece. 



Chapter V. 



The Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Milling Company. — A 
Powerful Corporation with Numerous and Valuable Properties. 
— The Different Interests Controlled. — Plant, Machinery and 
Equipment. — The Sirena Group of Mines. — The Vein Area. — 
How the Vein is Worked. — The Cardonas Group. — A Valuable 
Mine in Prospect. — San Vicente and San Bartolo Groups. — 
The Barragana Group. — A Visit to the Mine. — The Milling 
Operations. — The Company's Financial Position. 

THE Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Mill- 
ing Company was organized in the year 1898, 
to take over and work the Sirena mine, situated 
on the Veta Madre (or Mother Lode) of Guanajuato. 
Since its organization, the company has been gradually 
and persistently purchasing additional property until, 
at the present time, it owns at least six times the area of 
mining property that it possessed originally. 

The following is a list of the properties which the 
Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Milling Com- 
pany owns outright or is interested in: 

Pertenencias. Acres. 
Sirena Group 73.96 182.75 (Entire own- 
ership) 
Barragana, Constantina,etc.67.50 166.78 (50 per cent.) 
San Vicente, San Bartolo, 39.67 98.02 (63 per cent. 

and entire 
ownership re- 
spectively. ) 

Cardonas 12.00 29.65 (SOpercent.) 

Total 193.13 477.20 

Carmen 48.63 120.10 (Slpercent.) 

Grand total 241.76 597.30 

Page 72 




^ 



^ 



l-H 



Ph 



The Mines' Equipments 73 

Besides the above, the Consohdated Company owns 
10 per cent, in the preferred and common stock of the 
Concordia and Rayas Company, one of the largest com- 
panies operating on the Veta Madre, north of the Sirena 
mine. 

The mining plant and miscellaneous interests owned 
by this company can only be briefly described owing to 
their number, but, first, must be named the fine Hacienda 
de San Francisco de Pastita, adjoining the town of 
Guanajuato and covering a tract of land about 5 acres 
in extent, surrounded by a high wall, as is usual on all 
Mexican haciendas, old and new. In this area are situ- 
ated the company's Stamp Mill, Cyanide Plant, Melt- 
ing House, Assay Ofiice, Power Plant, Electric Light 
Plant, Workshops, Storehouses, Local Water Works, 
Main Business Office, Residence, Stables, and Gardens. 

The stamp mill is one of 80 stamps, recently finished, 
being equipped with the most improved modern appli- 
ances and machinery, which have completely replaced 
the old mill plant first built by the company. In ad- 
dition to the 80 stamps, there are two Huntington mills 
and a complete concentrating plant of Wilfley tables, 
Johnsons and Frue vanners. 

The cyanide plant is quite a modern one, consisting 
of 50 steel tanks and a series of masonry tanks, having 
an aggregate holding capacity of 2,300,000 gallons of 
pulp, and equipped with the pipe-lines, pumps, agita- 
tion machinery, zinc boxes for precipitation and filter 
presses, etc. 

The power plant is both electric and steam, and 
consists of electric motors, having an aggregate capacity 
of 1,000 horse-power, with transmission lines for power 



74 Mexico's Treasure-House 

and light throughout the hacienda and to the mines. As 
an auxihaiy to this plant, there is a modern steam-plant 
of Heine safety boilers, Corhss engines, etc. 

A splendidly equipped mine tramway consists of a 
uniformly-graded track of 40ib. steel rails, laid to 26- 
inch gauge, extending from the stamp mill, in the ha- 
cienda, through a tunnel into the mine- workings, a total 
length of 8,780 feet, exclusive of side-tracks, which 
make an aggregate of more than 10,000 feet in length. 

The water works consist of a Mata dam storage 
reservoir, in which are impounded the waters flowing 
in San Nicolas Creek, the most important branch of 
the Guanajuato River, together with intermediary dams, 
masonry aqueducts and pipe-lines extending between the 
dam and the company's hacienda, a distance of 11,437 
feet, and thence distributed throughout the hacienda 
by branch pipe-lines. 

The Sirena Group of mines, to which reference has 
been made, includes within its boundaries an area which 
covers 3,300 feet along the course or strike of the Veta 
Madre vein, by 2,000 feet from the hanging-wall of the 
outcrop of the vein horizontally over its dip, or down- 
ward continuation into the earth. The Veta Madre, 
having a dip angle of 45 degrees from the horizontal, 
the horizontal width of surface area of 2,000 feet, would 
include within its vertical boundaries a total distance or 
depth of 2,825 feet of the downward continuation of the 
vein. The total area, therefore, of the Mother Vein, 
within the Sirena group, is a rectangle, measuring 3,300 
feet in length by 2,825 feet in breadth, which would 
contain 9,322,500 square feet. 




W OF THE G 



/ 



The Sirena Mine 75 



This vein area is, however, further increased by that 
portion of the vein lying under the pertenencias cover- 
ing the company's Purisima tunnel. This covers an 
area of 328 feet along the strike of the vein, by 984 
feet over its dip. This latter dimension of the surface- 
area covers 1,392 feet of the vein on its dip; hence, 
328 feet x 1,392 feet gives an additional vein area of 
456,576 square feet, which, added to the 9,322,500 square 
feet already calculated, gives for the superficial area of 
the vein within the boundaries of this group, a total of 
9,779,076 square feet. Reduced to larger measures to 
facilitate a more adequate conception, this area is equal 
to 225 acres. 

To better understand the forgoing measurements, it 
should be borne in mind that the thickness, or width, of 
the Veta Madre ranges from 100 to 300 feet, and that 
linder this group there lay 225 acres of this vein-matter, 
varying in width, within these thicknesses, and dipping 
into the earth at an angle of 45 degrees, and also that 
the greater portion of this area is, as yet, unexplored. 
This mass of vein-matter is believed to be ramified with 
masses and bodies of ore of as yet undetermined dimen- 
sions, while these bodies may continue in dimensions 
equal to those of the ore bodies now developed in the 
bottom workings of the mine, say, 100 feet or more in 
width, while it is possible that these ores may range from 
low-grade milling ores to high-grade shipping ores, so 
altogether a fairly accurate conception of the enormous 
extent of the Sirena mine and the clever engineering 
which is required for its systematic exploration, develop- 
ment and economic operation, may be formed. 



/ 




riaU- 1'2.] 



(iENEKAi. View oi- the Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and IMii.i.ing Co.'s Plant and the Sirexa MorxiALN. 

The Sirena vein passes bcliind this mountain, and dips beneath it towards the mill. 



^ 



76 Mexico's Treasure-House 

The magnitude of this vein and the ore bodies which 
it contains is probably without parallel. 

The Cardonas Group covers an area of 12 perte- 
nencias of 29.65 acres, over the Veta Madre, and lies to 
the east of the Cedro. This group also practically ad- 
joins the Carmen Group. There is considerable de- 
velopment work done on this property, and a large body 
of ore, having an average value of $12.50 per ton gold, 
has been developed. The prospect for a valuable mine 
in this group is exceptionally good; in fact it may be 
said that such is already assured. 

The San Vicente and San Bartolo Groups lie in the 
Santa Rosa district. They contain within their bound- 
aries two of the three veins that traverse the Santa Rosa 
district, and have made it famous as a mining centre. 
There is considerable systematic development of a sub- 
stantial nature done on the veins in these groups, which 
has developed large payable bodies of miUing ores. 

The Barragana Group is located between the Pere- 
grina mine, owned by the Peregrina Mining and Mill- 
ing Company, which, as will be seen from the descrip- 
tion of that company which follows, is erecting a 120- 
stamp mill for the treatment of its ores and the El 
Monte mine, owned by a Mexican company. The 
latter mine is accredited with a production of about 
$30,000.00 in the past. The work done on the Barra- 
gana Group shows it to hold out great promise of mak- 
ing as large and profitable a mining enterprise as its 
neighbor, the Peregrina mine. 

The Sirena mine is the most prominent and the more 
extensively operated of all the company's mining prop- 
erties. I was enabled to make a careful examination of 




VAN IDE Plant 

Takei 



The Journey to the Mine 77 



it, and the impressions received were highly and 
uniformly favorable. 

Leaving the rock house of the stamp mill, at the 
hacienda, the journey to the mine is made in a fiat car, 
'Tulhnan," over the well laid tram road, 3,500 feet, to 
the elaborately ornamental portal of the Purisima tun- 
nel, the adit or main entrance to the mine; thence 
through this tunnel 2,500 feet to its intersection with the 
"Veta Madre," near the El Principe shaft, thence 
northerly through the vein, 1,300 feet, to the Soledad 
shaft, thence, continuing northward in the vein, a 
fm'ther distance of 1,476 feet to the end of the tunnel, 
and so on to the northerly boundary of the mine. 

This tram road is tracked with 40 lb. steel rails, laid 
lo 36-inch gauge, on a 1/10 of 1% grade, in favor of the 
loaded cars coming from mine to mill. This tunnel 
intersects the Veta Madre at a point 400 feet vertically 
below the surface. Below the tunnel level, the vein is 
developed through the two incHne shafts named above, 
"the El Principe" and the "Soledad." These shafts 
are sunk on the vein below the tunnel level to vertical 
depths of 500 feet and 450 feet respectively, and, con- 
necting these shafts with each other, tunnels are run in 
the vein an average vertical depth of about 100 feet 
apart. From these tunnels, at intervals, crosscuts are 
run at right angles towards the hanging and foot walls 
of the vein, and from these crosscuts raises are made 
through the ore bodies to the levels above. Thus the 
vein is penetrated with horizontal and vertical openings 
or workings, by means of which it may be examined and 
its physical conditions determined. 




Gr.xEUAi. View or tiip: Cyanide Pi.axv at the Guanajuato Consoi idaii d -Mimnc, ,\m) Miiiinc. Co. 

Talte 1 from the roof of tlie manairer's house. 




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Treatment on Reaching the Surface 79 

into steel cars, having a holding capacity of three tons 
each, which are hauled to the daylight by a 25 horse- 
power electric engine in trains consisting of ten cars each. 

On reaching the surface, the cars containing the coarse 
rock are dumped into a storage bin, this having a ca- 
pacity of 200 tons. At the bottom of this bin is set a 
Blake crusher which receives the coarse rock, as it is 
delivered by gravity from the storage bin, and crushes 
it to pieces, fine enough for the largest piece to pass 
through a 1^" ring. Thus crushed, the rock falls into 
the boot of an elevator, from which it is lifted 45 feet and 
delivered into a screen, and thence passes through the 
feed hopper, when it is delivered on to an endless pick- 
ing-belt. This belt consists of steel slats 30 inches wide, 
and which overlap each other in an ingenious way, and 
is itself some 75 feet in length, between the carrying 
wheels at either end, and having a travel speed of 30 feet 
per minute. 

The ore elevated from the crusher is fed regularly on 
to this belt, on which it forms a thin layer. On either side 
of the belt are stationed ore-sorters, who pick out the 
waste, or low-grade, ore as the belt carries its load past. 
About 20% of the weight of the coarse ore coming from 
the mine is picked out and goes to the waste, or low- 
grade dumps. By the time the belt has passed 12 ore 
sorters, 6 on either side, the ore which it carries is cleaned 
of all undesirable matter and the remainder is delivered 
into the clean ore bin at the delivery end of the belt. 
From this bin it is loaded into three-ton cars, and the 
coarse ore, with the fines screened in the mine, are run in 
trains of 10 to 12 cars and dumped into the storage bins 
at the Stamp Mill, which have a holding capacity of 



80 3IeQsico's Treasure-House 

1,000 tons. The ore thus delivered has an average value 
of $30.00 Mexican Currency (say £3) per ton. 

And now begin the miUing operations. From the 
mill storage bins, which are situated immediately behind 
the stamp batteries, the ore, already crushed as de- 
scribed, is fed automatically into the battery mortars, 
of which there are 16. In each of these mortars there 
are 5 stamps. 

The crushing, or pulping, operation is carried on by 
means of these 5 stamps. Each of these stamps weighs 
1,250 fbs., and is lifted by a cam and dropped 7 inches 
100 times a minute on the ore which is fed into the mor- 
tar. The pulping of the ore is effected wet, 7 to 8 tons of 
water being fed into the mortar for each ton of ore. The 
front of the mortar is fitted with diagonal slot screens, 
equivalent to 35 mesh per linear inch. In the pumping 
operation the splash of the falling stamps, keeps the 
pulp in continuous agitation against the slotted screen, 
and, when the pulp grains are fime enough, the water 
carries them out through these screens. On issuing from 
the mortar, the pulp is sized, the slime going to the Frue 
vanners and the sand to the Wilfley tables. The con- 
centration effected on these show a recovery of about 
50% of the values in the crude ore extracted, in a con- 
centrate weighing about 2.5% of the total weight of the 
pulp. The concentrates recovered by the Wilfley tables 
are sold to smelters and yield about 88% of their gross 
value in the form of bankable funds, net, to the com- 
pany. 

The pulp flowing from the Wilfley tables, and con- 
taining 50% of the gross value in the crude ore, is now 
subjected to a process of preparation for cyanide treat- 



A Prosperous Concern 81 

ment. By gravity settling and hydraulic classification, 
it is separated into sand and slime, these occurring in 
the ratio of 40% and 60% respectively. The sand is 
then conveyed to the sand-leaching tanks, of which there 
are 20, and receives a treatment in these, varying from 
14 to 16 days, during which time a recovery of values 
amounting to from 90 to 94% is made. The separated 
slime is submitted to the ordinary slime treatment in 
20 steel tanks, where a recovery of values equal to that 
made in the sand is effected. 

It should be said that the cyanide solution, after ex- 
tracting the values from the sand and slime, is directed 
to flow through boxes filled with zinc shavings, where a 
precipitation of all the values is effected, in the form 
of an impalpable gold and silver powder. This powder 
is collected and melted into bars and sold. 

The company receives, from its various methods of 
treatment described, about 85% net of the original 
values, in the crude ore milled, in the form of bankable 
funds. 

The company owning and operating all the valuable 
properties which I have mentioned in the earher portion 
of this chapter is naturally a stong one, financially 
speaking. The high opinion which the investing public 
hold of the Consolidated Mining and Milling Com- 
pany's stock is proved by the price at which the shares 
of $5.00 stand to-day, namely $7.00, or nearly 50% 
prem. ; while I have no hesitation in saying that, from 
what I have seen of the mine of Sirena, and from what I 
know of the management (which I can only characterize 
as efficient in the highest degree) , these shares are worth 
$10.00 a piece, and may shortly reach that figure. 



82 Mexico's Treasure-House 

The whole authorized capital of the company is $3,- 
000,000, divided into 60,000 shares of $5.00 each. There 
are bonds of the value of $300,000, in the form of 20 
year 7% sinking fund convertible gold debentures. It 
may also be observed that a sufficient amount of stock is 
set aside for the redemption of the bonds as they mature. 

The Board of Directors is a small one, consisting of 
four members, namely, Mr. Frederick L. Corning, 
President ; Mr. C. V. R. Cogswell, Secretary and Treas- 
urer; Mr. Robert Mulford and Mr. M. E. MacDonald. 
The latter gentleman, to whom so much of the present 
success of the company's operations is due, is also man- 
ager, while his equally able brother, Mr. Bernard Mac- 
Donald, is the consulting engineer. Mr. John S. Butler 
is the chemist and metallurgist. 

The company has already commenced to pay divi- 
dends, having declared a quarterly distribution at the 
rate of 6% per annum. Up till now, the company has 
wisely used all its resources for thorough development, 
and to place in a perfect condition of efficiency its valu- 
able properties. Henceforth the Consolidated Mining 
and Milling Company may be regarded as a permanent 
occupant of the dividend-paying list among the Mexican 
Mining Companies. 




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Chapter VI. 



The Guanajuato Reduction and Mines Company. — A Group of 
Historic Mines with Romantic Associations. — The Stories of 
the Rayas and Valenciana. — Progress of the Centuries. — Inter- 
ruption from the Revolution. — British Possessions Pass Away. 
— Modern Methods and Management. — How the Company 
was Formed and Who Formed It. — Some Tests of the Re- 
sults. — Big Profits in Sight. — Treating the Ores on the 
Dumps. — A Plucky and Successful Experiment. — The Bustos 
Pipe Line. — The Company's 80-Stamp Mill and Machinery. — 
Financial Position and Management. 

THE associations connected with several of the 
properties owned by the Guanajuato Reduction 
and Mines Company render their position a 
pecuHarly interesting one, apart from the fact that their 
holdings form one of the most important and powerful 
groups in the whole district. The history of some of 
these celebrated mines is practically the history of Gua- 
najuato (and its mining industry) itself. 

As is probably well understood, in view of various 
descriptions given, the Mother Lode mines, the great 
majority of which are held by the Reduction & Mines 
Co., are divided into four different groups, namely: 

The Valenciana Group, comprising the Valenciana, 
the Esperanza and the Tepayac; 

The Cata Group, comprising the Cata, the Secho, the 
Maravillas, the San Lorenzo and the Avispero ; 

The Mellado Group, comprising Mellado and numer- 
ous annexes ; 

The Rayas, comprising the Rayas and its annex El 
Maguey. 

Page 83 



84 Mexico's Treasure-House 

These mines are the principal properties belonging to 
the Reduction and Mines Company, but in addition 
they possess La Union, Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato, 
El Obrero del Porvenir, and La Sorpresa. This last 
named mine was added to the company's holdings later 
on, and the sum of $100,000 gold (say £20,000) was 
paid for it. 

In the La Luz district the company owns a large 
and extremely valuable group of properties, which are 
located on the La Luz, Rosario and other subsidiary 
veins, and comprise the Purisima with its annexes Santo 
Nino and La Palanca ; Rosario ; San Francisco de Pili ; 
San Pedro Gihnonea; Emma; Loreto; Todos Santos; 
San Cayetano and Abundancia; as well as interests in 
Asuncion de la Navarra, Independencia and Plateros, 
and reversionary rights to the Mejiamora. A huge prop- 
erty adjoining the others and known as the Americana 
has also been purchased, and the entire property on the 
La Luz vein, purchased from the Rul Estate amounts 
to a length of 7,000 feet. 

The first named four groups are all situated on the 
outcrop of the famous Mother Lode, and were pur- 
chased from the Rul Estate, which had previously pur- 
chased them from former owners or their representa- 
tives. It should be borne in mind that the Valenciana, 
the Mellado and the Tepayac were originally the prin- 
cipal Guanajuato properties of the Anglo-Mexican 
Company, while the Ray as, the Secho, and Cata were 
among the holdings of the United Mexican Company. 
Nearly every one of these mines has a history of great 
productions, the Valenciana alone having a recorded 
output of something like $300,000,000 (say £60,000,- 



:ASA DZ nC!JEE:A DE GUAITA JUATC "^^ 




Tm 



I ' ff ^ 



ACUNACiaU. 



'■-t'-^-^*^*^fr^'^*''^- ^•■^•>- - 






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EXPORT AC 1 □ N 




Gold Output from the Guanajuato District 
FROM 1824-1891. 

[The above figures are very minute, but can be read by tlie aid of a powerful 
magnifying glass. Authok.] 



Plate 17. J 



Riches Bring Honors 85 

000) to its credit — an almost incredible amount for 
one mine to have yielded. 

Some historians declare that the Guanajuato mines, 
taken as a whole, have produced ores to the value of 
$1,350,000,000 (say £270,000,000) , of which no less than 
$1,000,000,000 (£200,000,000) came from the Mother 
Lode proper, and $350,000,000 (£70,000,000) from the 
mines on parallel vein systems, situated from 8 to 10 
miles distant, of which the principal one is La Luz. 

The early discoverers of these mines, before they 
passed into the hands of the two British Companies 
mentioned, gained fame and fortune from their posses- 
sion. Thus, Senor Don Jose de Sardaneta, of Legaspi, 
owner of the Ray as mine, was created "Marquis de 
Rayas;" Senor Francisco Mathias de Bustos, owner of 
La Cata and Secho, became Viscount de Duarte; and 
Senor Antonio Obregon, of Alcocer, discoverer and 
owner of Valenciana, became Count de Valenciana. In 
this way was enterprise rewarded in the olden days; 
somewhat different from the present time, when suc- 
cessful mine owners — from South Africa — are de- 
nounced in the House of Commons as "thieves and slave 
owners" and the shareholders are termed "rascals," while 
the Government seeks every means to ruin them. 

Romance clings with astonishing pertinacity to many 
of these Guanajuato mines to-day, and will never by the 
natives, at least, be allowed to die out. For instance, 
it is related of the Rayas mine that the owner, progenitor 
of the Marquis aforesaid, conceived the idea of carrying 
his levels forward to a point under the dip of the Santa 
Anita shoot, which was worked as an open cut. The old 
man dreamed of his great mine night after night, but 



86 Mexico's Treasure-House 

dying before he could accomplish his great object he 
enjoined his son and successor on his death bed to carry 
out his scheme, prophecying that he would succeed and 
"discover even greater riches and honors." 

The prophecy was verified at first, for the Rayas mine 
became one of the most celebrated in the whole Guana- 
juato district; and put enormous wealth into the hands 
of the new owner of the property. 

However, the prophecy was only fulfilled in part. 
The riches had come — and gone, but the honors still re- 
mained in the future. Convinced that his venerable 
father was inspired on his death bed and that he could 
not possibly be mistaken, the younger Legaspi persisted 
in carrying on the work of development to the south- 
east. He met with the ordinary experience of men who, 
since the time of ^sop, find many willing to advise one 
to "go on" and others who implore one to "stop." It was 
the case of the "old man and the ass" over again. Only 
Legaspi knew what he was doing, and he proceeded to 
do it. He persevered; and in due course of time his 
efforts were rewarded by the discovery of a second 
"bonanza," the riches coming from the shaft of San 
Miguel. Now, again, rose the fortunes of the Sardaneta 
y Legaspi family, and on this occasion the second part 
of the old man's prophecy came true, for the King of 
Spain made the Kayas owner "Marquis de Rayas" — 
for a small consideration — and an enduring monument 
to the great man exists to-day in the form of a magnifi- 
cent building erected on the mine, with flying buttresses 
and a sculptured portal surmounted by a beautifully- 
carved statuette of the Archangel Michael ("prince of 
celestial Armies," as Milton called him) and tutelar 
Saint of this part of the mine. 



Valenciana Church 87 

The Valenciana, with such a magnificent record, 
naturally is not deficient in historical interest. In this 
case it deals with one Antonio Obregon, a Spaniard of 
great piety but with a keen appreciation of the good 
things of the world, and who, after vainly searching for 
some good pay ore, one day came across a poor and 
helpless individual, who, in return for certain kindnesses 
and benefactions, promised Obregon assistance in locat- 
ing a rich strike. In due course his promise was re- 
deemed, much to the surprise and let us hope the material 
appreciation, of the Spaniard, since he became thereby 
the richest man in the world at that time. His great 
piety found further expression in the construction of 
one of the most beautiful churches ever built by an 
individual. He began it in 1765 and completed it in 
1785, the total cost being $1,000,000, or, say, £200,000. 
Nothing can exceed the costliness of the altars and their 
furnishings, and the Valenciana church, admirably pre- 
served and most piously regarded by all Mexicans, re- 
mains the finest show place in Guanajuato — nay, in 
Mexico — to-day. 

In the year 1700, more than 30 reduction works were 
in operation at Guanajuato, with a total capacity of 500 
tons a day. Records exist which prove that progress in 
the 18th century was rapid, the mint, a pretty accurate 
index, showing that the yearly increase was considerable. 
During the first years of the new century the precious 
metals mined in Mexico amounted approximately to 
$10,000,000 a year. By the end of the century this had 
increased to an annual production of $23,000,000. This 
sum represented two-thirds of the world's production of 
silver during that period. From 1760 to 1810 Guana- 



88 Mexico's Treasure-House 

juato contributed 30% of the entire Mexican produc- 
tion and 20% — or one-fifth — of the entire world's out- 
put of silver. 

The century was only 10 years old when revolution 
came stalking into Mexico, and from that time the mines 
— especially those of Guanajuato where the first echoes 
of revolt made themselves heard — commenced to suffer. 
As the great majority of the mine owners and operators 
were on the side of the Government — ^believing that in 
the end it must win and having naturally a keen eye for 
their own interests — the revolutionists had no mercy 
upon them and their properties, which were destroyed 
right and left, their workmen hkewise being carried 
away as recruits, willing and otherwise. The out-put 
fell from $5,000,000 in 1810 to $1,000,000 in 1820. For 
fifteen years this condition of things prevailed, when 
an improvement commenced to manifest itself. It was 
at this time that the two British companies (the Anglo- 
Mexican and the United Mexican) already referred to 
came upon the scene and managed to buy up the half- 
ruined properties at a very low price, and being wel- 
comed by the impoverished Government as the har- 
bingers of fresh foreign capital — so sorely needed, since 
the country had but little of its own. 

Among the very wealthiest of the Spanish residents 
in Mexico was the Rul family, which had for a hundred 
and fifty years been amassing property in the Guana- 
juato District, until they had collected properties cover- 
ing more than 8,500 feet of the Mother Vein. Many, if 
not most, of these mines had been leased by the Rul 
family to British companies, and they, therefore, em- 
ployed the funds paid to them for these by taking up 




"^fcjfcfc*''*"'- 



Lack of Cheap Power 89 

other claims on the La Luz veins, which for 200 years 
had lain dormant in favour of the Mother Vein. The 
history and experiences of the La Luz district will be 
found more fully commented upon under Chapter XII, 
dealing with the Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines 
Company. 

At the time that matters were first brought to the 
attention of the Reduction and Mines Company, all of 
the properties of the Mother Vein, excepting the Cata, 
and all of the properties at La Luz, were filled with 
water and had been practically abandoned. The Cata 
had been unwatered to the 800 foot level, but was being 
worked in a hand-to-mouth fashion by a few "buscones" 
under most disadvantageous circumstances. The dis- 
trict, in general, was poverty-stricken to the last degree, 
as practically no mining work was going on and the min- 
ing population was, in a large degree, either at the point 
of starvation or was emigrating to other camps. The 
utmost discouragement prevailed throughout the dis- 
trict, but at this very moment a deus eoc machina ap- 
peared in the form of Mr. Leonard E. Curtis. This 
gentleman, who was a lawyer, whose life work had been 
with the electric companies, came to Guanajuato in 
1902 to investigate certain legal titles pertaining to 
mines controlled by Mr. George W. McElhiney, but, 
having a good deal of time on his hands, he and Mr. Mc- 
Elhiney made a thorough reconnaissance of the district. 
The enormous masses of wastes produced by ancient 
workings impressed him greatly, and he soon became 
convinced of Mr. McElhiney's views that the principal 
cause for the moribund condition of the district was the 
lack of available and cheap power. So convinced was he 



90 Mexico's Treasure-House 

of this, that upon his return to the United States he made 
a startling proposition to certain friends that they should 
expend something over a million dollars in bringing 
several thousand horse-power to a camp which, at the 
time, was using none and was, to all intents and pur- 
poses, completely dead. 

His faith in the future, however, was contagious, and 
resulted ultimately in the establishment of the Guana- 
juato Power and Electric Company, whose first in- 
stalled unit was capable of delivering 3,500 horse power 
into Guanajuato. This power-plant was opened in 
November, 1903, and is fully described under the head 
of Chapter XIV. 

During this same time, two energetic young Ameri- 
cans, Mr. George W. McElhiney and Mr. George W. 
Bryant, had been extremely busy in getting together the 
large old mine holdings of the Mother Vein, and plac- 
ing them in such legal form that a commercial consoli- 
dation could be effected. Having done this, the pro- 
ject was presented to Mr. George A. Beaton, of New 
York, who forthwith despatched to Guanajuato, to 
make preliminary examinations, Prof. R. T. Hill, one 
of the best-known geologists of the United States Geo- 
logical Survey, with a corps of able assistants. Mr. 
Charles L. Kurtz, now the President of the Guanajuato 
Reduction and Mines Company, was also sent by Mr. 
Beaton to look over the general situation. 

Mr. C. W. Van Law accompanied Mr. Kurtz in Sep- 
tember of 1903 for a preliminary look-over the situa- 
tion, coming again in November of the same year, when 
immediately upon his return to New York a large staff 
for sampling and surveying purposes was collected to- 



Testing the Dumps 91 



gether, and from 100 to 200 men were told off to do the 
sampling work. The enormous quantity of the dumps 
resulting from past workings and their reputed work- 
able grade at once formed the principal point of attack 
in the investigation, since, could these stores be treated 
at a profit, there would be provided a sufficient founda- 
tion for a large enterprise, leaving the mines themselves 
to follow as a secondary consideration. 

As a consequence of the investigation, shafts were 
sunk through all the principal dumps to the original 
ground surface underneath, and hundreds of samples 
were taken, weighing from 500 to 2,000 pounds each, to 
determine the grade of the dumps. From the depths of 
the shafts and the contours of the ground surface under- 
neath resulting, the quantities of the dumps could also 
be accurately estimated. At the same time, sampling- 
investigation was pursued in the Cata mine and such 
portions as were available of the other mines, and it soon 
became evident that, leaving out of account any question 
of mine-ore from the vein proper, there was at least as 
much available material lying as "fillings" in the old 
stopes under ground as there was on the dumps. 

All this, however, would have been useless without a 
metallurgical process which would economically and ef- 
fectively extract the values from the ores. A five-stamp 
mill was leased in the outskirts of the town : the services 
of Mr. F. J. Hobson, who is one of the best-known 
silver-cyaniding chemists of the world, were secured to 
conduct the tests, and a large number of mill-runs were 
made on a practical scale from the dumps. The results 
were more than satisfactory. It was easily demon- 
strated that there was, as a minimum, $1.00 (U. S. Cy.) 



92 Mexico's Treasure-House 

a ton profit in some two million tons of dmnp ore already 
mined and on the surface, and not less than $1.50 per 
ton profit from the waste fillings under-gromid, aggre- 
gating another million tons. There was the strongest 
reason to believe that the old mines, instead of being ex- 
hausted, might be counted upon to yield again a very 
large production of grade which would result in most 
handsome profits. 

Under these conditions, options for the properties 
were quickly closed, and without waiting for the ex- 
piration of the time of the options' final payments, these 
were anticipated by about 18 months, and all of the 
properties taken over were paid for in cash. In order 
to assure the dip of the vein to much greater depths than 
they had before been worked, additional properties were 
also secured, both at La Luz and on the Mother Vein, 
which would allow of the working of the latter to about 
5,000 feet, practically throughout the length of the 
holdings of this company. 

In February of 1905, a thoroughly energetic and 
comprehensive construction program was commenced. 
A 150 horse-power compressor was installed upon the 
Cata mine with its complement of air drills, with which 
new levels were commenced below the old workings and 
driven as rapidly as possible, and with most gratifying 
results. A considerable flow of water having been en- 
countered, large electric pumps were Hkewise installed 
in the Cata mine, and the unwatering from the Cata of 
the Tepayac mine was accomplished ; the unwatering of 
the Rayas and Mellado mines in the same manner is now 
proceeding. Plans have been completed for a 1,000-ton 
mill to be located at Bustos Hacienda, right at the shaft 




GuxVNA.iUATo Reduction and Mixes Coimpaxy. 

Interior view of precipitating ])lant, containing fifteen zinc boxes having six 

comj)artments, each 4X4X3 feet. 

Plate 19.] [See page 99. 




G[^\XA.TUAT() IIeductiox axi) Mixes Compaxy. 

Sand leaching tanks, witli slime tanks in background, showing sands under 



treatment. 



Plate 20.] 



[See page 99. 



A Daring Eocperiment 93 

of the Cata mine and at a point central to the entire 
system, where easy railroad transportation from all 
the properties can be secured. 

In order to thoroughly demonstrate on a working- 
scale the practicability of treating these ores, it was de- 
cided to install one-quarter of the ultimate unit im- 
mediately, deferring the completion of the full unit until 
this had been run for three or four months. During 
the construction of the mill, however, a five-stamp unit 
was kept running constantly, making cyaniding tests 
of the ores from the various mines of the company, with 
such results that the cyaniding question in all of its de- 
tails was settled before the completion of the present 
unit, and active preparations are now under way to pro- 
ceed with the increased capacity. 

The position of the Bustos mill site, in a narrow valley 
with little flow of water to carry off" the residues, made 
necessary a somewhat daring experiment, that of sepa- 
rating the crushing and concentrating portion of the 
plant by a distance of nearly a mile from the cyanide 
plant, which could be located on the main stream of the 
district where there is always sufficient water to carry 
away residue or tailings discharged. Against practi- 
cally the unanimous opinion of all visiting engineers 
who were consulted, it was decided to carry the ores, 
after they had been crushed and concentrated, through a 
small cast-iron pipe, laid with uniform grade, from the 
Bustos mill to the cyanide plant situated in the heart of 
the city, utilizing simply the flow of the water in which 
the ore was crushed, due to the gravitation of the pipe. 
As the grade available was only 2^% it was believed by 
almost every one that the sand could not be carried, and 



94 Mexico's Treasure-House 

that the pipe would inevitably be choked and stopped 
up. Certain experiments were made upon this matter 
which caused the company to proceed with their con- 
struction on the original hues indicated. 

The plants were started March 1, 1906, and have been 
in constant operation, 24 hours a day, since that time. 
The pipe line, which was looked upon with so much fear 
by visitors, demonstrated at once that not only was 
there no danger of stoppage but that it would actually 
carry several times the volume of pulp treated with 
perfect ease, and with much less water than is normally 
used in the mere crushing and concentrating of ores. 
In fact, before the normal stamp-mill pulp, coming 
from the concentrators, is introduced into such pipe Hne, 
the company, by means of large settling cones, are 
removing something like 50% of the water and return- 
ing it immediately for mill use, the pulp flowing 
through a mile of 8-inch cast-iron pipe without experi- 
encing the slightest difficulty, thus effecting the trans- 
portation of 250 tons of ore per day, for the distance of 
a mile through the heart of a crowded city, and this 
without a cent of expense. The pipe being, in general, 
buried throughout a considerable distance of its length, 
requires no expensive maintenance or inspection, and the 
right of way for such a line was, naturally, but a small 
fraction of what would have been necessary for any 
other means of transportation possible. 

The ore is brought from the Cata mine in 4-ton gable- 
bottom cars to a large bin above the crushing plant, in 
which plant the ore is double-crushed to %" cube by 
gyratory crushers, sorting likewise taking place on a 
sorting belt. The crushed ore is conveyed and elevated by 



The Mechanical Treatment 95 

a travelling belt and distributed into the steel bin of the 
mill structure, which bin has a capacity of 2500 tons of 
crushed ore. The ore is then passed through "Challenge" 
feeders to the eighty (1050 lbs.) stamps, AUis-Chal- 
mers pattern, making one hundred 7%" drops per 
minute. The mortar is of extra heavy "El Oro" type, 
weighing 9000 lbs., with extra broad base directly bolted 
to heavy concrete piers. 

The 30-mesh pulp from the batteries goes to Wilfley 
tables, of which there are 24 in the mill, such tables 
having no elevators, the middlings, instead, being gath- 
ered at two common points in the mill, and elevated for 
regrinding in an Abbe tube-mill, this being re-handled 
over special Wilfleys before joining the tailings from 
the balance of the tables in a concrete launder running 
through the centre of the concentrator-room. This 
launder delivers into a tunnel which conveys the pulp to 
a cone-house where, in two steel cones, 20 feet in dia- 
meter, a portion of the water is removed and returned 
for re-use in the mill. From the cone-house, the pipe 
line above mentioned conducts the pulp to the cyanide 
plant, where a classification into sands and slimes is ef- 
fected by a double cone system, the sands being received 
through Butters' distributors into either of two receiv- 
ing tanks, and, after draining, discharged through 6- 
bottom discharge gates in each tank upon conve3'^or 
belts, which elevate and convey the sands over the top 
of a line of 40 ft. by 8 ft. leach tanks, into which the 
sand is showered by a special distributing tripper and 
handled by ordinary leaching process with 12-day leach 
time. 



96 Mexico's Treasure-House 

The overflows from all classifying cones pass over a 
trap to eliminate any sands which may have escaped, 
the slimes being conducted to 36' x 12' agitating-tanks, 
and treatment eifected by agitation and decantation. 
The agitation is by means of mechanical arms supple- 
mented by 6" Meese & Godfried centrifugal pimips. 
After the final wash in the slimes tanks, the slimes are 
pumped into high settling-tanks, where a final settling 
and decantation takes place before discharge. All de- 
canted solutions pass through sand filter tanks before 
entering the zinc room. 

The zinc room contains 15 steel zinc boxes, of 6 com- 
partments each, each compartment being 4' x 4' x 3'. At 
"clean-up," the precipitate is flushed through a hopper- 
bottom of each compartment into steel launders to a 
central sump, being thence pumped through a Johnson 
filter press, and, later, briquetted in combination with 
fluxes and melted directly into bars. No acid treatment 
is given, as nothing which will not pass a 60-mesh screen 
is sent into the filter press, all coarser than this being re- 
turned to the zinc boxes. The ores consist of clean, 
white quartz containing a small percentage of iron py- 
rite and silver in the form of argentite, without any 
other base in the ore. 

Owing to the very large tonnage of material actually 
in sight, the system of construction followed has been 
rather unusual, the mill structures throughout being of 
steel, wood only being used for the floors and similar 
purposes. The masonry foundations over the entire 
plant are extremely massive, and the whole has been 
built with the idea of secm-ing a minimum operating cost 




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Financial Resources 97 

and maintenance through a period of activity which 
will extend over a good many years. 

The operation returns for the month of March, 1906, 
lately completed, evidence that the metallurgical extrac- 
tions upon which the company's original plans were 
based will not only be reached but exceeded, and the 
operation costs, even at this early day, it can be said with 
certainty, will be less than the costs which have been 
figured on in all preliminary estimates. Whereas the 
original promotion of the company's enterprise was 
purely on the basis of low-grade dump handling, the 
mine developments have been such that the dump 
question is of less and less importance, and it becomes 
evident that, with a reasonable time for mine develop- 
ment, the mines will be perfectly able to carry the 
whole enterprise with a correspondingly much larger 
basis of profit. 

The financial condition of the Guanajuato Reduction 
and Mines Company is an indisputably sound one, the 
affairs of the concern being in the hands of a Board of 
Directors many of whom are distinguished financiers 
and recognized commercial authorities. The following 
statement of resources and liabilities made up to the end 
of last year (1905) will show the precise position of this 
company: 



98 Mexico's Treasure-House 

Resources. 

Property Rights and Franchises $8,747,442.34 

Unsold Bonds in Treasury 569,472.45 

Machinery, Tools and Equipment 15,266.34 

Materials and Supplies 75,327.89 

Furniture and Fixtures 6,956.62 

Organization 53,237.39 

Construction 304,863.51 

Mine Development 80,636.88 

Accounts receivable 166,953.76 

Cash on hand 58,300.71 

$10,078,457.89 

Liabilities. 

Capital Stock $7,500,000.00 

Bond Issue: 

Outstanding bonds. . 
$1,930,527.55 

Unsold bonds in hands 
of the American 
Industrial Devel- 
opment Company 

$569,472.45 2,500,000.00 

Accounts payable . . . 36,018.74 

Misc. Receipts 39,066.24 

Mexican currency ad- 
justment — U. S. 
Cur rency equiva- 
lent @ 200 3,372.91 

$10,078,457.89 



The Company's Officers 99 

The capital stock of the Guanajuato Reduction and 
Mines Co., as will be observed, is $7,500,000, to which 
must be added bonds of 20 years' life, and bearing inter- 
est at the rate of 6 per cent., bringing the total capitali- 
zation up to $10,500,000. The bond issue in circulation 
at present is $2,500,000, and the additional $500,000 of 
bonds will only be issued after the expiration of two 
years from the date of the mortgage, and then only for 
the purpose of providing funds for the purchase of 
additional property or to pay for increase or improve- 
ment of the company's plant. The Board of Directors 
is as follows : Charles L. Kurtz, Columbus, Ohio ; John 
S. Bartlett, Boston, Mass. ; Leonard E. Curtis, Colorado 
Springs, Colo. ; Samuel M. Hamill, Schenectady, N. Y. ; 
Henry Hine, Colorado Springs, Colo. ; Leon O. Bailey, 
New York City; Clement A. Griscom, Jr., New York 
City; George B. Cox, Cincinnati, Ohio; Carlos W. Van 
Law, Guanajuato, Mexico. 

The various high offices in the Company are filled by 
the following gentlemen: Charles L. Kurtz, President; 
Leonard E. Curtis, Vice-President ; Henry Hine, Vice- 
President; Clement A. Griscom, Jr., Vice-President; 
Charles F. Dowd, Secretary and Treasurer; LeRoy 
Parker, Auditor ; Frederick W. Stehr, Assistant Treas- 
urer ; Martin F. Turner, Assistant Secretary ; Leon O. 
Bailey, Counsel; Carlos W. Van Law, General Man- 
ager ; Pablo Martinez del Rio, Counsel at Mexico City ; 
Carlos Robles, Counsel at Guanajuato and Pope Yeat- 
man. Consulting Engineer. 

LOFC. 



Chapter VI I. 




The Story of the Guanajuato Development Co. — Methods of 
Financing and Assisting Promising Properties. — A Mutual 
System of Profit-Earning. — The Securities Corporation's Po- 
sition. — The Guanajuato Representatives. — The Various 
Properties Described. — Their Early Development. — The Work 
Carried out and the Results Achieved. — The Pinguico. — 
Richest Ore in the District. — The Cedro Group. — Former 
Workers Neglected Great Opportunities. — Valuable Ores and 
their Treatment. 

I HE Guanajuato Development Company is an 
American Corporation, formed in the State of 
New Jersey for the purpose of acquiring 
properties in the Guanajuato Mining District, devel- 
oping them sufficiently to prove their value, and, sub- 
sequently, oiFering them for purchase to other compa- 
nies or organizing subsidiary companies upon them with 
sufficient capital to work them thoroughly. These prop- 
erties are taken up on lease with an option to purchase 
the same outright, which affords an opportunity for the 
subsidiary company to prove the value of any property 
before actually taking it over. 

The first operations of the Development Co. were to 
secure the right to purchase three mining properties and 
one ranch, all being situated in the district of Guanajua- 
to. The capital of this company, which is $1,000,000 
(U. S. Cy.) preferred and $3,000,000 common stock, is 
devoted practically entirely to making first payments 
upon such properties as it may take over, and to defray 
their initial development expenses, so that it may be re- 

Page 100 



Guanajuato Development Company 101 

garded, in every sense of the word, as an "exploration" 
as well as a development company. 

Being controlled, as it is, by men of great experience 
and with an intimate knowledge of the Guanajuato 
Camp, it is scarcely necessary to say that very few 
mistakes are made in the selection of properties. It is 
also worthy of note that, in disposing of its holdings, the 
parent Development Company asks for no cash profit, 
being willing to accept therefor a common-stock repre- 
sentation in addition to the amount of actual cash which 
it may have expended either for the acquisition of the 
properties or for their preliminary development. Thus 
the interests of the Guanajuato Development Co., and 
the newly launched enterprise, to which it disposes of its 
interests, are mutual. For its future profits, the Devel- 
opment Co. looks to its offspring, and is willing to 
share with them whatever success they may achieve, re- 
ceiving in common with other shareholders the dividends 
which are paid on the ordinary stock of such subsidiary 
companies. ISTo greater amount of confidence in the 
value of the properties of which it disposes could be de- 
monstrated; in a word, the Development Company 
agrees to "sink" or "swim" with the purchasers of its 
holdings, whose well-being is its well-being likewise. 

The Securities Corporation, Ltd., is a powerful Amer- 
ican Co., and was responsible for the development and 
eventual flotation of the famous Peregrina Mine. It 
was also due to this Corporation that the Guanajuato 
Development Co. was brought into existence. The home 
of The Securities Corporation, Ltd., is in New York 
(40 Wall street), and it also has representatives located 
in most of the large cities of the United States. All of 



102 Mexico's Treasure-House 

the officers are men of considerable experience and un- 
doubted standing in their respective communities, being 
in close touch with the investing public, and well able to 
form an accurate judgment as to the position and 
future possibihties of the diiFerent properties which 
they handle. 

It is notable that these representatives receive no 
stated salaries, their remuneration taking the form of 
a commission resultant upon the sale of those securi- 
ties which are taken up, and subsequently redisposed 
of, by The Securities Corporation, Ltd. This com- 
pany, likewise, offers securities for sale, and adopts the 
very novel and sensible method of inviting its agents 
and representatives to personally visit the properties 
which it is proposed to sell to them. Prospective pur- 
chasers are in this way afforded every opportunity to ex- 
amine such properties, and personally see for themselves 
everything which is claimed for them. All possible data 
and information are given, and nothing but the utmost 
frankness is practised, so that there can be nothing in 
future for the corporation to reproach itself with, 
should any unforeseen circumstances militate against the 
success of the undertaking. It is not in mortals to com- 
mand success, as Addison tells us, but they can do more 
and deserve it; that is a dictum recognised and acted 
upon by all legitimate enterprises, among which The Se- 
curities Corporation, Ltd., may undoubtedly take rank. 

In Guanajuato The Securities Corporation, Ltd., 
and the Guanajuato Development Co. are represented 
by Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, both of whom for a 
decade past have made a close and careful study of 
Mexico, and especially of Guanajuato, as a field for in- 



Four Valuable Properties 103 

vestment. Although the word of these gentlemen would 
be accepted without demur, and their judgment respect- 
ed by the majority of investors, The Securities Corpo- 
ration, Ltd., has deemed it desirable to further strength- 
en its individual recommendations by employing other 
independent mining engineers upon all of the properties 
which Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant call to their at- 
tention. This was the method adopted in regard to the 
Peregrina Mine, referred to later on, and which is 
one of the properties which are to-day proving in 
every respect as valuable as the preliminary reports 
made upon them by independent experts, as well as by 
Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, represented them to be. 
A similar method of procedure will be adopted in re- 
gard to all the properties which the corporation will 
offer for sale from time to time. 

There are, at the present time, four properties in partic- 
ular of which I would desire to speak, viz. : El Pinguico, 
El Cedro, La Central and the San Isidro Ranch, but be- 
fore proceeding to describe these various holdings I 
would say that I have visited one and all personally and, 
therefore, do not write from mere hearsay or accept 
without further question the high opinions which have 
been passed upon them by others. Inasmuch as these 
properties are likely to be offered at no distant day in 
the form of investment, either in the United States or 
Great Britain — and most probably in both conjointly — 
I propose reviewing them in more or less detail. 

Pinguico. — The word "pinguico" in Spanish means 
a certain class of shrub that grows prolifically in Mexico. 
The property so named comprises several mining claims, 
namely: El Pinguico, Amphacion del Pinguico and 



104 Mexico's Treasure-House 

San Jose, having a total superficial area of 121 acres. 
The claims were practically unknown at the time of their 
being acquired by Messrs. McEUiiney and Bryant in 
1900. They were taken over not on account of any par- 
ticular mineral outcrop on their surface, but because, in 
an adjoining property, a very rich vein had been dis- 
covered, which, if continuous, would almost certainly 
lead directly into the claims of the Pinguico group. 
This step, therefore, showed great foresight and discern- 
ment upon the part of Messrs. McEUiiney and Bryant, 
whose prevision has since been abundantly justified by 
subsequent events. At the time that the Pinguico prop- 
erties were secured by the gentlemen referred to, and 
who eventually transferred them to the Development 
Co., the ore in the adjoining mine was nearly 2,000 feet 
away, but the vein in which this occurred was so strong 
and so apparently continuous that it was considered, by 
its then owners, to offer the attractions of a very safe 
mining speculation. In the six years which have trans- 
pired since then, work has been continued by means of 
tunnels and shafts for the purpose of reaching the ore- 
body which was known to exist in the adjoining mine, 
and which proved to be continuous to the boundary-line 
of the Pinguico property. 

It was only after four years' work (namely, in 1904) 
that these efforts were rewarded, and a year later 
(1905), the first profits commenced to accrue. During 
the period of exploration and development, a very con- 
siderable outlay had necessarily been incurred, — the 
ground proving particularly difficult to work, and the 
disappointments not a few. No expense, however, was 
spared in the provision of the necessary mining equip- 



The Pinguico Mines 105 

ment. The speculative value of this property having 
been proved by Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, the 
Guanajuato Development Co. acquired all their inter- 
ests therein, but at a very moderate price, the vendors 
accepting, as usual, their profit in the form of securities 
of said purchasing company. 

The work which has been done upon the Pinguico 
property included the driving of several hundred feet 
through the ore which had previously been discovered by 
the original owners. The vein has been found to consist- 
ently grow wider and the ore as regularly to increase in 
value; the average value of this to-day is at the high 
rate of $50 U. S. Cy. (£lO) per ton. 

The ore contained in the vein of this mine is entirely 
different to any other which I have seen in the Guana- 
juato District and is, indeed, almost unique in character. 
It is of a clayey nature, which rapidly hardens upon be- 
ing exposed to the air. I have every reason to believe 
the statement made to me "that the ore of the Pinguico 
mine is quite the richest that is found in the Guanajuato 
camp." 

Work is proceeding actively at the mine in the 500 ft. 
level, and is advancing at the rate of 4 ft. per diem, 
through ore, which is, as I have stated, worth $50 U. 
S. Cy. (£10) per ton. The vein has a width of 20 ft. 
Workings both above and below this level assure 150 ft. 
above and 150 ft. below, so that every foot of advance 
which is made in this level practically guarantees 400 
tons of this extremely rich ore. The ore-chute has been 
followed for over 200 ft., — thus constituting the very 
richest chute which has been found of latter days in this 
district. 



106 Mescico's Treasure-House 

It is scarcely necessary to point out that the values 
which the Pinguico has been proved to contain came 
upon the original owners with something of a shock of 
surprise, and no doubt caused them to regret the precipi- 
tation with which they had tied up their property. What 
has been their individual loss, however, has proved to the 
advantage of the Guanajuato Development Co. as a 
whole, and of course a benefit to Messrs. McElhiney and 
Bryant, who receive their profit indirectly in shares of 
the company acquiring this valuable property. 

JNIy examination of the mine sufficiently proves that 
the present owners have allowed no question of initial 
expenses to interfere with its proper equipment and 
management. All the necessary offices and buildings are 
in excellent condition, including a blacksmith shop, store- 
houses, administration offices, dwelling houses, sorting- 
sheds, transformer house for the electrical current, etc., 
etc. The machinery, which consists of a 20 and a 50 
horse-power electrical hoist, an electric blower, a 50 
horse-power electric compressor and a 20 horse-power 
electric pump, are all in first-class order. 

The workings consist of a 500 ft. cross-cut tunnel, 
which cuts the vein at a depth of 200 ft. below the sur- 
face. Upon this vein one 500 ft. shaft has been sunk 
from the cross-cut tunnel, and another 800 ft. shaft is at 
the present time being sunk from the surface, at a posi- 
tion selected at about the middle of the claim. It would 
probably be no exaggeration to estimate the net profit al- 
ready in sight at $2,000,000 (£400,000), while a con- 
servative estimate of the future foretells, with almost 
absolute certainty, a further $4,000,000 (£800,000) as 




^ iJ 



'Sd 



El Cedro Group 107 



representing the ore to be blocked-out before the end of 
the current year. 

Probably, shortly after these lines appear in print, the 
Guanajuato Development Co. will form a subsidiary 
company for the purpose of operating upon a large and 
comprehensive scale the Pinguico mining property. In 
the meantime, however, the development work will con- 
tinue to further prove the value of the property, which 
will be later on transferred. 

It only remains to be said that the claims of the Pin- 
guico group are held upon unquestionable titles from the 
Federal Government of Mexico. The exact dimensions 
of the area which it holds are 3,300 ft. along the vein, 
and with deep level rights also amply protected. 

The high values which were previously referred to are 
found exclusively to the south end of the claims and oc- 
cupy only 600 ft. from the south end toward the north 
end. As the development work progresses toward the 
north, both the width of the vein and the values which 
it contains steadily increase. If it should be proved 
that these values endure along the entire extension of 
the ground, the Pinguico mine would become a celebrity 
for its richness as was the Valenciana (also in the Gua- 
najuato camp) in its most halcyon days, and when it 
produced no less a sum than $300,000,000 (£60,000,- 
000) . That which has been, may be again. 

El Cedro. — These properties consist of a large 
number of mining claims covering a superficial area of 
200 acres, and including the following claims : 

El Cedro. 

Fractions between El Cedro and Guadalupe de Pro- 
videncia and San Caralampio. 



108 Mexico's Treasure-House 



Fractions between El Cedro and Purisima Concep- 
cion. 

Purisima de la Concepcion. 

Fractions between Purisima de la Concepcion and El 
Cedro. 

Guadalupe de Providencia. 

Fractions betwen Guadalupe de Providencia and El 
Cedro and Nuestra Senora del Patrocinio. 

San Caralampio. 

Fractions between San Caralampio and Nuestra Sen- 
ora del Patrocinio. 

The above named properties are located on the cele- 
brated "Mother Vein" (Veta Madre) of Guanajuato, 
of which I have previously spoken, and having an exten- 
sion along that vein of about 6,000 ft. with deep levels 
amply covered. The properties were originally split up 
among six different owners, each of whom operated his 
own portion of the property as a separate mine, and in 
each of which a good ore-chute was developed and a 
large production of ore obtained. Under one manage- 
ment, it is scarcely necessary to say that the operating 
expenses are considerably reduced. During the 150 
years which these properties have been worked, as much 
as $50,000,000 gold (£10,000,000) has been taken out 
of them. Some few years ago, a Mexican corporation 
was organized, which succeeded in purchasing from the 
six different owners who held the properties the whole 
of their rights, and in tliis way the much-desired combi- 
nation of the various properties was brought about and 
form to-day what is known as the "Cedro" group. 

The early proprietors, although they succeeded in in- 
stalling a certain amount of modern machinery, were not 



Development Co/s Enterprise 109 

able to successfully operate the properties, nor, indeed, 
did they possess the funds necessary to erect an up-to- 
date treatment plant, without which no mining propo- 
sition of this character can ever become a thoroughly 
profitable enterprise. Success was attained, however, by 
efforts more or less spasmodic, as was proved by the 
values which the owners extracted from their properties. 
Sometimes they found very high-grade ores which pro- 
duced enormous profits ; but without a systematic opera- 
tion, necessitating a large amount of working capital 
which they did not possess, nothing hke permanent or 
regular success could be expected. It was not, therefore, 
difficult to induce the owners to sell out to the Guana- 
juato Development Company, under the usual provision 
of bond and lease, providing for obligatory develop- 
ment being done. 

Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant were again the me- 
dium for the acquisition of this property for the Develop- 
ment Co., previously making an examination to assure 
themselves of the desirability of acquiring the mines, 
with the result of finding more net profit in sight in the 
mine than the total purchase price represented. The bond 
and lease under which the property is held call for the 
payment of the purchase price at the end of two years 
from Jan. 1st, 1906, during which time active develop- 
ment work must be continued, and this is going on both 
rapidly and consistently at the present time. 

The vein passing through the Cedro property has an 
average width of 40 ft., across which it is mineralized in 
many portions — frequently for its entirety. The grade 
of ore found was not profitable under the old methods 
of treatment; but to-day, by means of modern mining 



110 Mexico's Treasure-House 

and milling machinery and the invaluable cyanide pro- 
cess, the mine is proving to be an enormously profitable 
investment. The former owners opened up the mine by 
means of four vertical shafts and two incline shafts, to 
an average depth of 700 ft. But a small proportion of 
the ground which was thus opened-up had been touched, 
as it was considered of too low a grade to produce profits 
by the old methods. To-day, this same ore, which carries 
about $12.00 U. S. Cy. (£2.8.) per ton, is capable of 
producing from $6.00 to $7.00 U. S. Cy. profit (£1.4.0 
to £1.8.0) on every ton of ore which is mined and milled. 

There are some 200,000 tons of "dumps" on the prop- 
erty, or what were called "dumps" by the original owners, 
but these really may be regarded as reserve heaps of ore, 
inasmuch as their value is very nearly $6.00 per ton, 
and will return a $3.00 profit on each ton after milling. 
The former owners of the Cedro properties had rejected 
vast amounts of "fillings," — that is to say, ore which 
they had not thought it worth while to extract for treat- 
ment, considering it of too low grade; but the present 
proprietors will be able to mill these rejections with con- 
siderable success, since accurate tests have proved them 
to be capable of yielding from $4 to $5 U. S. Cy. per ton 
profit, by proper milling methods. 

The workings of the mine traverse long distances un- 
touched by the former owners, for the reasons indi- 
cated above. These bodies contain several hundreds of 
thousands of tons of ore, ready for breaking and send- 
ing to the mill, there to be turned into gold and silver 
bars and handsomely recompense the owners for their 
outlay. 



*-"s.'t"V -.i 





Contemplated Improvements 111 

Under the management of the Guanajuato Develop- 
ment Co., the Cedro group is having its workings con- 
siderably deepened and fresh enormous bodies of ore 
blocked-out. By the end of the present year the Devel- 
opment Co. will be in a position to form a subsidiary 
company on a large scale to take over and work the 
Cedro properties. It is contemplated to erect a mill 
having a daily capacity of from 300 to 500 tons, which, 
when completed and in operation, will secure a profit of 
$5 U. S. Cy. (£1) per ton on every ton of ore treated. 
The property, once in the hands of the operating com- 
pany, will be equipped with all the necessary and most 
modern machinery, destined to be operated in a very 
efficient and economical manner. The Cedro property 
may be considered among the most valuable in the Gua- 
najuato District, and yielding an average all-round 
profit of $5 (<£l), means, considering the vast amount 
of ore already in sight and that yet to be blocked-out, 
a handsome return to those investing their money in it. 



Chapter VIII. 



The Story of the Guanajuato Development Company (Continued). 
— The Central Group of Mines. — The Company's Scope and 
Methods of Working. — The Apareeida Mine. — The Victoria 
Mine. — The San Prospero Mine and Mill. — A Great River 
Dredging Scheme. — San Isidro Ranch and Dam Undertaking. 

CONTINUING the description of the proper- 
ties of the Guanajuato Development Com- 
pany, I may now proceed to consider that im- 
portant group known as La Central, and which com- 
prises the following- claims : 

Ampliacion de San Vicente, Canales, Nuevas cuadras 
de Canales, San Vicente, Nuevas cuadras de San Vi- 
cente, 3a. Ampliacion de San Vicente, Santa Isabel, La 
Escondida, Alfa, Beta, Gama, Delta, Jota. All of these 
have a superficial area of 172 acres. 

The mines are situated in the immediate proximity of 
the Cedro properties, already described, but they pos- 
sess their own veins entirely distinct from those of their 
neighbours'. Some thirty veins traverse the property 
outcropping on the surface, and showing values in gold 
and silver ranging from $10 to $20 U. S. Cy. (£2 to 
£4i) per ton, leaving a very handsome margin of profit 
for the operating company. 

When the Guanajuato Development Co. took over 
these properties, they had already been worked for a 
year previously through five tunnels and four incline 
shafts. These workings served to open up twelve veins 
at depths ranging from 200 to 500 ft., and the ore- 

Page 112 



Rich Pockets of Gold Ore 113 

bodies thus exposed were of the very high-grade, above 
mentioned. It was necessary to outlay considerable 
sums of money to further open up and work these veins, 
and to provide the necessary mills in which to treat the 
ores mined. The original proprietors were unable to 
obtain the funds required for this purpose, and were, 
therefore, ready to dispose of their properties to the De- 
velopment Co. under the usual bond and lease terms, at 
the same time selling the mill which they had already 
erected, and which is sufficiently large to aif ord an earn- 
ing capacity of several thousands of dollars per month, 
all of which profit is being put back into the property by 
the Development Co. 

It is estimated that it will take a further period 
of 18 months to put these mines into efficient shape to 
produce a regular output of 200 tons per day. In due 
course of time the Guanajuato Development Company 
will organize a subsidiary company for the purpose of 
taking over the Central group, — in the mean time sup- 
plying sufficient sums of money to erect and equip a 
mill and furnish the mines with thoroughly up-to-date 
machinery. The anticipated result will be an earning 
capacity of $1,000 U. S. Cy. (£200) per day. 

Some extremely rich pockets of gold-ore have been 
found upon the Central property, while specimens of 
native gold are frequently met with. During the past 
working, some comparatively small pockets of gold have 
been found which have produced as much as $1,000,000 
(,£200,000) in a few months. Anticipating a continu- 
ance of these lucky finds, the former owners entirely 
neglected to work the low grade for more sure profit - 
earning ores. Under the new management, it may be 



114 Mexico's Treasure-House 

taken for granted that, while the Development Com- 
pany will keep a keen look-out for and extend a ready 
welcome to any more of these rich pockets, the less val- 
uable ores will be vigorously and consistently worked, — 
the scheme of operation embracing the blocking-out 
of a large tonnage of moderate-grade ore, of which it is 
absolutely certain the mine contains vast stores. 



The San Isidro Ranch. — Besides the mines to which 
I have referred, the Guanajuato Development Company 
owns the San Isidro ranch, which is one of the oldest 
properties in the State of Guanajuato, its titles dating 
back more than 200 years. It is situated up in the moun- 
tains, east and northeast of the famous mining district, 
and is precious from more than one point of view. In 
addition to possessing a large area of thickly-wooded 
scrub oak, it is exceedingly valuable for charcoal and 
pasturage, and will accommodate 5,000 head of cattle. 

This ranch, moreover, comprises a very large drain- 
age basin which wiU render possible a storing of a vast 
accumulation of water, to be used hereafter in the mines, 
mills and factories in Guanajuato, and for irrigating 
a huge area of rich agricultural land on the plains. The 
ranch covers some 16,000 acres, of which two-thirds are 
tributary to a single drainage-basin. This latter can be 
economically dammed and thus formed into a reservoir 
sufficiently large to contain nearly 6,000,000 cubic me- 
ters (1,500,000,000 gallons), while the ground having 
a much greater altitude than any of the surrounding 
country, the water can be supplied by means of gravita- 
tion to any point which is necessary for the purposes of 
the mines, mills, factories or irrigation. 




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The San Isidro Dam 115 

For every ton of ore milled in the Guanajuato camp, 
it is necessary to provide about five tons of water for 
each ton of ore that is treated ; and in view of this, com- 
bined with the fact that the mines, as a rule, have but 
comparatively small quantities of water in them, and 
that the flow of the streams near by is practically nil 
(except in the rainy season) , the value of the San Isidro 
Ranch as a storage-dam will be recognized. 

As a matter of fact the mines will have to depend en- 
tirety upon the San Isidro dam for their future water 
supply, while the various mills, factories and farms will 
be fortunate in being able to secure so regular a supply, 
and thus render themselves independent of any climatic 
assistance. 

The dam will be able to supply from its accumulated 
storage enough water to run thousands of stamps in the 
Guanajuato District, as well as irrigate, for a distance 
of from 6 to 10 miles, the rich lands which spread out in 
the adjoining plain. It is not unreasonable to anticipate 
a most prosperous and remunerative farming and agri- 
cultural industry in the Guanajuato neighborhood, since 
the new dam ^vill be in a position to suppty all the water 
necessary. Upon the San Isidro Ranch itself no fewer 
than 5,000 head of cattle can be pastured, and inasmuch 
as these animals could be purchased as yearlings at ten 
dollars Mex. (£l) and sold as three-year-olds for thirty 
to forty dollars Mex. (£3 to £4) , the handsome profits 
which this enterprise can secure for the industry alone 
will be obvious. Taking this in conjunction with the 
regular annual revenue from the mines for the supply of 
water and the sales of the scrub-oak, the proposition 



116 Mexico's Treasure-House 

should be an extremely tempting one from an investor's 
point of view. 

Cattle-raising has always been a very important and 
remmierative industry in Mexico, and carried on as it 
wiU be at Guanajuato on the San Isidro Ranch, under 
experienced management, it should prove by no means 
an unimportant asset of the Guanajuato Development 
Company. The Spaniards, in whose possession this 
ranch remained for over two hundred years, were keen 
believers in cattle-breeding, and by means of special 
legislation they made it the favorite occupation of the 
inhabitants of the country. Before their time, however, 
cattle-breeding in Mexico formed a very inconsiderable 
part of the country's exports ; later on this industry was 
turned to somewhat better advantage, the hides being 
manufactured into leather and the tallow being used for 
the making of soap. Towards the close of the seven- 
teenth and the whole of the eighteenth century, sheep 
farming became an industry of great value, especially 
in the northern and central provinces. 

Guanajuato is one of the principal agricultural and 
cattle-raising States in the Republic. It ranks third in 
the list of cattle-producers, Jalisco coming first, with a 
value of $13,333,922; Chihuahua second, with $9,215,- 
465, and Guanajuato third, with $8,840,537. With the 
naturally rich pasturage and the abundant water supply 
which the San Isidro Ranch will henceforth enjoy, there 
is no reason whatever why the State's cattle production 
should not be materially increased by this fine property, 
as soon as it gets into thorough working order. 



The Organization and Staff 117 

THE MANAGEMENT OF A GREAT 
ENTERPRISE. 

When the Guanajuato Development Company 
took over the whole of the active Guanajuato business 
of the Securities Corporation, Limited, and of the 
Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, it was also obliged to 
take over the management of all the properties pre- 
viously managed by those gentlemen, with the result 
that to-day it controls, through its offices, the business of 
the Peregrina Mining & Milling Company, the Nayal 
Milling Company, the Central Mining & Milhng Com- 
pany, the Cedro Mining & Milling Company, the Pin- 
guico Mining & Milling Company, the San Isidro 
Ranch, The San Prospero Mines Company and the San 
Matias Mill of that company, the Aparecida Mines 
Company, the Victoria Mines Company, the Guana- 
juato River Gold Mining Company, the San Mateo 
Mines Company, the Guadalupe Mines Company, the 
Navidad Mines Company and the La Luz Mines Com- 
pany, as well as the personal properties of Messrs. Mc- 
Elhiney and Bryant and Mr. Peck. 

In order to handle all these properties and to look af- 
ter the construction of their mills, the equipment of their 
mines and the handling of their concentrates and bul- 
lion, a very large organization naturally is necessary. 
Mr. Geo. W. Bryant is the active business head of the 
company in Guanajuato, and in his office is found a 
technical staff covering every branch of a business which 
includes the construction of the mills, the equipment of 
the mines and the complete operation of both. To carry 
this out properly and in a systematic and well-organized 



118 Mexico's Treasure-House 

manner — as assuredly is done — it has been necessary to 
gather together a highly efficient technical corps re- 
cruited from every part of the world. Upon the staff of 
this company are to be found men who have graduated 
from technical colleges in every part of the globe, and 
who bring to bear upon the conduct of the various mines 
and properties the combined experience and ability of 
the best brains of the world. 

The laborers employed are entirely Mexican, and it 
therefore becomes necessary that the managing staff 
should be efficient both in speaking and writing the 
Spanish language and possess a thorough knowledge of 
the capacity and customs of these people. It is hardly 
as simple, as may be imagined, to obtain employees pos- 
sessed of these qualifications as it is to obtain men in the 
United States where but one language is spoken, and 
where both labor and material are more easily procured. 
In spite of these draw-backs, however, it can be safely 
said that the construction of mills and the equipment of 
mines with their necessary comphcated machinery can 
be done more cheaply in Mexico, and especially in Gua- 
najuato, than in any part of the West. As an example 
of this there may be mentioned the construction of the 
new Peregrina mill, consisting of 100 stamps (a com- 
plete description of which will be found in Chapter X) , 
for the sum of $200,000 U. S. Cy. (£40,000) and the 
building of the great Peregrina dam, with a capacity 
of storing 100,000,000 gallons of water, for less than 
$25,000 U. S. Cy. (£5,000). 



The Aparecida Mines Company 119 

SOME PROMINENT GUANAJUATO 
PROPERTIES. 

The Aparecida Mines Company. — This company 
owns the following mining claims: "El Fenix," "La 
Perulera," "La Independencia," and "La Amphacion 
de Independencia." They comprise a total superficial 
area of 116 acres, and are located on the celebrated 
Mother Vein between Rayas (belonging to the Guana- 
juato Reduction and Mines Company), on the N. W., 
with its recorded production of $300,000,000 (£60,- 
000,000) and the Sirena (belonging to the Guanajuato 
Consolidated Mining & Milling Company) on the S. E., 
with a production of over $50,000,000 (.£10,000,000). 
The Aparecida claims cover about 2,000 feet along 
the vein, with the deep levels protected to a depth 
of 2000 feet vertically. The outcrop of the Mother 
Vein is very strong throughout the properties, and, in 
the crosscuts of the mine, a width of about 200 feet is 
constantly shown. 

The property was worked on the surface in the early 
days, and large amounts of ore were taken out at that 
time. Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, of Guanajuato, 
obtained an option for the purchase of the property in 
the year 1903, and then formed the Aparecida Mines 
Company, a Colorado corporation with a capital of 
$1,000,000 (£200,000). Sufficient capital was sub- 
scribed to carry out a certain amount of development 
work, which has resulted in the opening up of some very 
large, and unquestionably rich, ore-bodies. The ore de- 
posits of the Rayas and Sirena mines, situated on either 
side of Aparecida, have been found to be the richest at 



120 Mexico's Treasure-House 

SL depth at least 1,000 feet below the present workings of 
the Aparecida; so that it is perfectly reasonable to as- 
sume that further enormous tonnages of good ore are to 
be won from so wide a vein beneath the present work- 
ings. 

It is the intention of the company to erect a mill and 
to thoroughly open up the mine to a still greater depth. 
Mr. Frank G. Peck is President of the company, and 
its offices are in Colorado Springs. Messrs. G. W. Mc- 
Elhiney and Geo. W. Bryant hold a large amount of 
stock in the company, as well as many Eastern people. 

The mine is equipped with electrical machinery, and 
as will be recognized from the description of its situa- 
tion, it occupies a very strategic position. Mr. Geo. W. 
Bryant is manager for the company in Guanajuato. 



The Victoria Mines Company. — Some six years 
ago a group of Colorado mining entrepreneurs became 
interested in a piece of virgin ground located on the 
great Mother Vein of Guanajuato, and adjoining the 
famous Valenciana mine. Due to the fact that the sur- 
face of the claim was not promising, it had been left 
untouched for close upon three centuries. This 
group of Colorado people purchased the property, and 
formed a corporation known as the "Victoria Mines 
Co." With a full knowledge of mining and the risks 
which are usually entailed therein, they erected machin- 
ery and sank a modern shaft to a depth of 1000 feet, 
cutting the vein at about 900 feet and going right 
through it. They found ores running from $6.00 to 
$9.00 U. S. Cy. (say from £1.4.0 to £1.6.0), which 
at that time were not "pay" ; and this fact resulted in 



San Prospero Mines Co. 121 

stoppage of any further work on the property. To-day, 
however, with the introduction of cheap electric power 
and of the cyanide process for treating the ores, this 
grade of ore will leave a profit, when worked, and the 
mine will undoubtedly be re-opened very soon. The 
claims comprise the following: "La Victoria," "Am- 
pliacion de la Victoria" and "2a Amphacion de la Vic- 
toria," with a total superficial area of 135 acres. Mr. 
Frank G. Peck is President of the company, and its 
offices are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mr. Geo. 
W. Bryant is General Manager in Guanajuato. 

This is one of the properties which, there can be but 
little doubt, will develop rapidly in the future, and will 
be a testimony to the splendid courage of the men who 
sank deep shafts into that apparently barren ground. 



The San Prospero Mines Co. — This is a Color- 
ado corporation, of which Mr. Frank G. Peck is 
also the President, and Mr. Geo. W. Bryant the Gen- 
eral Manager at Guanajuato. The property comprises 
the claims of "San Prospero," "San Francisco" and 
"La Ampliacion," with an area of 70 acres. These 
claims are located about half a mile from the celebrated 
Valenciana mine, and its principal vein is parallel to the 
Mother Vein of Guanajuato, dipping at about the same 
angle and in the same direction. As an old mine, it was 
worked by open cuts on surface, frequently to a width 
of 50 to 60 feet; but at no time was any serious effort 
made to sink shafts and carry on proper mining work 
until Mr. Peck purchased the property in the year 1900. 
He immediately equipped it with machinery, and began 
systematically developing the property. At present 



122 Mexico's Treasure-House 

there is ample ore blocked out, with a value of from 
$10.00 to $12.00 U. S. Cy. (£2.0.0 to £2.8.0) per ton, 
largely in gold. For the working of the property and 
the building of the mill there was formed the San Pros- 
pero Mines Company, and in December of last year was 
begun the construction of a 40-stamp mill for the treat- 
ment of the ores of the property. In order to secure 
ample water facilities, Mr. Peck purchased all of the 
surface-land in the immediate vicinity, and which com- 
prises several small ranches, thus securing to himself the 
entire water rights for his mill. 

The mill, which is now nearly completed, comprises the 
usual crushing machinery, silver-plated amalgam plates, 
Wilfley concentrating tables, hydraulic separators for 
separating the sands from the slimes, tube mills for re- 
grinding the sands, sand-tanks equipped with the Blais- 
dell system for automatically charging and discharging 
the tanks and in which the sands will be treated by cya- 
nide, slime tanks with the Hobson patent agitating 
machinery for agitating the slimes in the tanks, precipi- 
tation house equipped with the latest methods for precip- 
itating cyanide solutions on zinc, filter presses, fur- 
nace for melting precipitates, and, in fact, everything 
needed for the most modern, complete combination cya- 
nide mill. This mill will have a capacity of from 125 to 
150 tons per day; the motive power throughout is elec- 
tricity, and the water is supplied by a series of large 
dams in which all the water collected from a considerable 
area is stored. While not the largest in the camp, the 
"San Matias" mill is, in every sense, absolutely com- 
plete, and no care or expense has been spared either by 
its original designer, Mr. F. J. Hobson, or its owner, 




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Valuable Tailings Carried Away 123 

Mr. Peck, to make it thoroughly perfect in every re- 
spect ; and it is but fair to say that it will effect a saving 
of from 90 to 95 per cent., if not more, while the entire 
operation will be carried out as cheaply as good manage- 
ment and automatic machinery can render possible. 

The San Prospero mines will be otherwise thoroughly 
equipped with electrical hoists, compressors and pumps, 
so that mining there will be made as cheap as it is pos- 
sible to make it. At the bottom and both ends are found 
good ore, and it is safe to predict a long and a profitable 
life for this attractive property. 



A GREAT SCHEME IN PREPARATION. 

The Guanajuato River Gold Mining Company, 
— For more than three hundred years the tailings 
from the many patio mills of Guanajuato have 
been discharged into the Guanajuato River, with the 
result of filling up a depression to a depth of 
more than 30 feet with finely-crushed sands, which ex- 
tend below the City of Guanajuato for a distance of 
some seven miles. In the early days of the sixteenth, 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, milling by the 
patio process did not save nearly as much of the precious 
metals as the improvements of later years made possible, 
with the result that much of these tailings carried away 
in the Guanajuato River still retain good values. It is 
estimated that over 100,000,000 tons of tailings have 
gone from these mills into the river, and scarcely anj^ 
of these tailings could have contained less than 2% oz. 
of silver ; and since but very little of the gold was saved 
in the old style mills, these same tailings must carry a 



124 Mexicans Treasure-House 

very large proportion of the yellow metal. The tailings 
in great quantities have been washed down the river and 
taken too far away to be of any immediate service ; but 
nearly 10,000,000 tons of these sands still remain, carry- 
ing an average value of $2.50 U. S. Cy. (say 10/s) per 
ton. 

The company joined with Mr. Geo. W. McElhiney 
and his partner, Mr. Geo. W. Bryant, in securing from 
the State Government of Guanajuato a concession to 
excavate and treat these taiUngs. Their concession stip- 
ulated the expenditure of a large sum of money within 
a certain length of time. This money was duly expended, 
in a very careful and thorough investigation of the 
quantity and value of the taihngs, for which purpose 
excavations were made along the entire seven miles of 
the river course and bed, and the material was 
thoroughly sampled and tested after each excavation. 
Some extremely remarkable and Iiigh-grade deposits 
were discovered, and these were especially realised when 
the bed-rock was reached, where frequently large de- 
posits of quicksilver, lost from the amalgamation mills, 
as well as of silver amalgam, also lost by the same proc- 
ess, could be scraped off the bed rock, while every crev- 
ice of the rock held a small pool of quicksilver. 

The results of this investigation pointed to concentra- 
tion as the best method of treating the tailings, and a 
small plant was erected, using electricity for power, and 
equipped with various kinds of concentrating-tables for 
the test work. It was found that a concentrate could 
readily be made carrying from $50.00 to $100.00 U. S. 
Cy. (<£10 to £20) per ton, and represent a saving of 
about half of the values contained. The cost of exca- 



A Golden Prospect 125 

vating the material from the river, separating the coarse 
rock from the fine sands and passing the sands over con- 
centrating tables, was 25c. (say 1/) per ton, so that a 
very good margin of profit remained. The success at- 
tained upon a small scale has emboldened the company 
to erect a plant on a larger scale, having a capacity of 
about 3,000 tons of material per day. Such a plant 
should have an earning capacity of $3,000.00 per day 
and can probably work eight months in the year. There 
is suflicient material to supply such a plant for about 10 
years, and it is confidently believed that it will return its 
entire cost with its first year's profits. 

A still larger deposit of these taihngs is found fur- 
ther below the ground held by the concession of this 
company, which is the property of Mr. Frank G. 
Peck and Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant. While the 
grade of the lower deposit is not so good, yet the ton- 
nage is very much greater, and it is readily handled by 
the same means as in the upper part of the river. It is 
quite probable that these two propositions may be 
eventually combined, in which case the plant would be 
increased in size, and a profitable life of at least 20 years 
given to it. 

This is undoubtedly one of the best propositions in 
Guanajuato to-day. It is possible to sample the values 
and measure the tonnage with absolute accuracy, while 
many deposits of extremely high-grade values, and also 
much solid amalgam and quicksilver, have been found. 
No effort has been made to include them in the average 
value of the tailings, and it is the intention to treat the 
material exactly as is done with the gold placers of Cal- 
ifornia, the only difference being that, instead of re- 



126 Mexico's Treasure-House 

covering free gold, as in the case of California, the 
values will be recovered in the form of sulphides or con- 
centrates, which must either be melted on the ground, 
cyanided, or sold to the smelters. Another point of dif- 
ference between this deposit and the placers of Califor- 
nia consists in the fact that the average value of the 14 
miles of river covered by these tailings deposits is about 
$4.00 per cubic yard, while the value of those of Cali- 
fornia is 15c. per cubic yard. 

The material will be excavated by dredging ma- 
chinery, as is done in California, and it will then pass to 
concentrating tables, where as much as possible of its 
contents will be saved. It is to be greatly regretted that 
the values are too low to permit of economical cyanid- 
ing, but it is possible that in later years even this may be 
attempted with success. 

The haciendas situated on the banks of the Guana- 
juato River, where in former days the patio process of 
treating the mine ores was in constant operation, and 
from which the discharged tailings fell into the river, 
were as follows : Casas Blancas, San Juan, La Trinidad 
and San Francisco. The last of these haciendas to 
operate the old patio process may still be seen working, 
being the only one of its kind now left, perhaps. Par- 
meo, Barrera Grande, Barrea en Media, Dolores, San 
Antonio de Barrera, Noria Alta, Cipreses, Rocha, San 
Pedro, Pardo, San Francisco de Flores, Purisima de 
Flores, Graniditas, Salgado, Patrocinia, Carrica, Esca- 
lera, San Matias, San Gavier, La Luna, Duran, Lucito, 
Bustos, San Augustin, Puerta Grande, San Geromino, 
and San Francisco Patista, are the other haciendas, 
many of which are now in ruins and deserted. 




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Chapter IX 



The Peregrina Mining and Milling Company. — A Substantially 
Financed Undertaking. — A Mine with an Interesting History. — 
The Early Indians and their Work. — Description of the Pere- 
grina. — The Veins. — How They are Being Worked. — High- 
grade Ores. — An Intelligent System of Development. — The 
Motive Power Used. — The Machinery as It Was and as It Is. 

THE initial mistake made by so many mining 
companies situated in different sections of the 
world of attempting to commence the develop- 
ment of new mines without sufficient capital of their 
own, or a substantial financial "backing," has been 
avoided by the majority of the Guanajuato companies 
at present working in this district. One of the most 
substantial and successful enterprises is The Peregrina 
Mining and Milling Company, of whose properties I 
propose to speak in detail, first, however, desiring to 
point out that the great amount of success which. has 
attended this company has been mainly due to the fact, 
that, from the beginning of its career, it has enjoyed the 
invaluable assistance and abundant resources of The Se- 
curities Corporation, Limited, of New York. 

This great company paid for the whole of the ex- 
haustive examinations and voluminous reports made 
upon the property, which required no less than five 
months to complete, and cost something Hke $20,000, or 
say £4,000. Engaged upon the work were two of the 
most distinguished mining engineers and metallurgists 
to be found in Mexico, namely, Mr. A. B. Carpen- 

Page 127 



128 Mexico's Treasure-House 

ter and Mr. F. J. Hobson, both of Mexico City. 
Some nine other American engineers were also en- 
gaged in this work, and it is only fair to say that, 
so far as expert knowledge and ripe experience can 
make anything absolutely certain in this world, the 
Peregrina Mine has been thoroughly and unquestionably 
established as a valuable and workable proposition. 
Nothing was left to chance for want of consideration, 
every ton of ore in the mine itself and on the dumps be- 
ing carefully measured, sampled and assayed, while 
thorough discussions and consultations were held as to 
the most advantageous methods to be adopted for the 
recovery of the ore-values both by milling and cyanide 
process, and determining what should be about the cost 
of the treatment and its attendant results. 

Having thus provided the means and opportunity for 
the Peregrina to be known and to "know itself," The Se- 
curities Corporation, completely satisfied from the exam- 
inations that it was not wasting its substance, con- 
sented to finance the enterprise all through, and subse- 
quently acquired the property by purchase. The pre- 
vailing conditions of the markets at this time favored 
the purchasers, and the mines were acquired at a very 
reasonable figure. It is certainly worthy of mention, 
and may be carefully noted by English and American 
promoters generally, that the purchase price of the Pe- 
regrina was net to the proprietors, not a single dollar 
being added in the way of commission, promoters' 
profits or other "watering" before it reached the hands 
of the shareholders. Of how many similar concerns can 
this reassuring statement be truthfully said? 



Peregrinas Ancient History 129 

Thus equipped from its inception, and handled by 
men of ripe experience, untiring energy and strict in- 
tegrity, the Peregrina commenced operations, and 
conducted in the same manner and under the same spirit, 
has to-day advanced into the front rank of the soundest 
and most valuable mining property in Mexico. 

Like that of many of the most celebrated mining 
properties in the Guanajuato Camp, the history of 
Peregrina goes back for many years, being celebrated 
for its enormously rich silver ores in the pre-Indepen- 
dence days. There are certain old inhabitants still exist- 
ing who remember their fathers and grandfathers telling 
of the great wealth drawn from these mines ; but, success- 
ful as these early workers undoubtedly were, there is no 
question that they knew little or nothing of the real 
value of the mines, nor did they even know how to make 
the most of what they found there. The Spaniards 
ignorantly threw aside as useless thousands of tons of 
ore on to the "dumps" (that is, heaps) , and to-day these 
same dumps are reckoned among the most precious as- 
sets of The Peregrina Mining and Milling Company. 
There is reason to believe that Peregrina was being 
worked and big quantities of ore being taken out by the 
Indians before Cortez ever set foot in the country, and 
the hateful name of Spaniard had come as a curse to 
the peaceful "Chichimecas," inhabiting this portion of 
the country. 

Tradition is rich in regard to Peregrina, and among 
other records it is found that huge outcrops of the fa- 
mous Peregrina vein, measuring 50 feet wide and of im- 
mense value, were worked by the primitive fire and 
water method, i. e., building a fire in a tunnel in the wall 



130 Mexico's Treasure-House 

and then throwing cold water on the heated surface, 
causing it to crack and fall to pieces. To-day, that 
50-foot outcrop has given place to a vast fissure 1,500 
feet long, 100 feet deep and 60 feet wide, extending 
from wall to wall, and proving conclusively that if the 
old fire and water process of mining was slow, as it un- 
doubtedly must have been, at least it was sure — for the 
Indians certainly got out rich silver and gold from the 
rock and used it. 

But whatever amount they took out was represented 
tenfold by what they ignorantly or carelessly left in. 
They only troubled themselves about the richest kind of 
ores, as they knew them, fortunately for the present 
owners leaving intact numerous bodies of ore which 
measured in length anywhere between 400 and 500 feet 
and having a depth of about 150 feet. No evidence ex- 
ists that the early workers knew of these valuable de- 
posits, or knowing of them, troubled themselves in the 
least to wrest the treasures which they contained from 
the encumbering rock. In silver, these deposits yield 
about $20.00 or $30.00 a ton, but in gold — of which 
the Indians seemed to take absolutely no heed — there is 
a return of nearly $10.00 (£2) per ton. The stores of 
these valuable ores are almost exhaustless, including 
what has been blocked-out in the mine and what exists 
on the dumps outside. 

Whereas the early Indians and their successors always 
regarded the Peregrina mine as a silver-producer and 
very little else, the mine is actually a valuable gold, as 
well as a silver, property. The proportion of the yellow 
to the white metal amounts to no less than 68 per cent, to 
32 per cent. It may be mentioned that one parallel vein 










o 

Li 

o 



The Main Vein and Ores 131 



in the south end of the mine carries 70 per cent, of gold 
and 30 per cent, silver in value. Under these circum- 
stances, the Peregrina may legitimately be described as 
a "Gold Mine," and a very valuable one, too. By the 
present methods of working the ores, which I shall de- 
scribe in detail later on, nearly all the values are re- 
covered, whereas formerly they were only very imper- 
fectly secured by the patio process. 

The mine contains a main vein embracing about 3,874 
feet of length. This has been developed for about two- 
thirds, say 2,558 feet and to a vertical depth of nearlj' 
900 feet. The main vein may be divided into two por- 
tions, the northwest and southeast. In the first mentioned 
part, the workings contain no portion of the main vein in 
the upper levels ; and it is only encountered at a depth of 
597 feet from the surface. In place of the main vein, 
however, there is a complete system of smaller veins, all 
having in their time yielded abundantly. Splendid ore 
is found as the main vein is encountered, the width being 
exceptionally great. In some parts the width is nearly 
40 feet, of which at least 14 feet have a value of $10 
(or £2) per ton, while at one point samples taken and 
treated resulted in a return of $43 (£8/12) per ton. 
In the southeastern portion of the main vein the esti- 
mated amount of ore is over 300,000 tons, of a value of 
$10 per ton. Careful measurements have been made here 
as elsewhere in the mine, although some difficulty in 
actually securing measurements was experienced owing 
to this part of the mine being choked up with "fillings," 
that is, large quantities of discarded ore. A considerable 
part of the vein here remains undeveloped, but that the 
ore body continues to exist without any change in char- 



132 Mexico's Treasure-House 

acter cannot be doubted. Where samples have been 
taken, the results have been exceedingly satisfactory. 

There are several valuable parallel veins existing both 
at the southeast and northwest end. The most impor- 
tant, perhaps, are the first named. The workings here 
are developed through crosscuts from the Barreno shaft, 
and drifts on this vein show a width of ore measuring 
over six feet. The vein dips towards the main vein at an 
angle of 80 degrees, the best of its ore running in chutes, 
one of which has a length of 154 feet along the vein. 
The value of this ore is about $9.75 (say £1/19) per ton. 
A good deal of work must have been done here in the old 
days, but some 6,000 tons of ore remain between the two 
existing levels. Several other branch veins run here, 
some of which, however, are only of a low-grade ore. 

The northwest end of the parallel veins shows an ex- 
tensive amount of working. One vein is nearly vertical, 
with a width of from one to three feet. The ore is found 
in pockets or chimneys and lenses, and has been proved to 
be of a high grade. Some of the ore has been tested, and 
has yielded a return of $50 (or say £10) per ton, and 
this over a width of three feet. Other samples have re- 
turned as high as $40 (£8) and as low as $11 (£2/4) 
per ton, but this part of the mine has been but little de- 
veloped of late years, and contains great possibilities. 

It is quite exceptional to find such an amount of ore of 
so consistent a grade as that in the Peregrina, bearing in 
mind the length of the workings with both ends open. 
Another feature is the constant width of the main vein, 
and the indications which it presents of becoming even 
wider. At the bottom level the ore chutes are remark- 
ably well-defined, although the northernmost end, as I 



Total Value of Ore 133 

have said, is as yet only partially and imperfectly deter- 
mined. I was particularly well impressed with the lack 
of necessity for the use of expensive and cumbersome 
timber in the shafts, the nature of the walls of the veins 
being such as to render this superfluous. Then, again, a 
very small quantity of water is encountered, reducing 
considerably the cost of pumping, always an expensive 
and troublesome part of mining. The three large shafts 
which I inspected are admirably constructed, and are 
situated very favorably both for ore extraction and ven- 
tilating the mine. The Guadalupe shaft retains its 
steam hoist as well as its new electric hoist and is in 
addition installing a pump, when it will be used as an 
auxiliary pumping shaft. These shafts have the follow- 
ing dimensions: Guadalupe 1,050 feet deep; San Fran- 
cisco, 900 feet deep; Barreno, 420 feet deep. The total 
value of ore in the mine measured upon four sides may 
be conservatively put at $2,500,000 (U. S. Cy.) or, say, 
£500,000 net profit to the shareholders. 

I have already mentioned the valuable character of the 
dumps, but perhaps a few further words of description 
of these desirable assets of the Peregrina mine may 
prove interesting, and at least merit some attention. 
Some of these huge mounds of ore which, during the 
many years that the mine has been working, have been 
brought to the surface and there "dumped" down, have 
distinctive names of their own. Thus there is the Guada- 
lupe Dump, composed almost entirely of ore from the 
main vein, and the Barreno Dump having 65,000 tons 
of $10.00 ore. It is protected on all sides by well built 
stone walls, two pits being sunk on the top. Samples 
taken from these yielded $8.50 (say £1/14) per ton. 



134 Mexico's Treasure-House 

There are probably some 18,000 tons of ore on the 
Guadalupe Dump, and all of about the same value. The 
total value of the dumps on Peregrina is weU over 
$1,000,000 (about £200,000). This large amount of 
value must be added to that of the ore in the mines itself, 
viz: $2,500,000 and the mine fillings, representing a 
further $170,000, making a grand total of $3,700,000 
(or say £740,000) in net profits. 

The Peregrina, hke all the other properties belonging 
to the same group of proprietors, is situated close to the 
City of Guanajuato, being about 7 miles distant. The 
loeahty is scenicaUy a charming one, the mine being con- 
tained in a series of romantic-looking hills, part of an 
apparently endless range stretching away almost as far 
as the eye can reach. An immense undulating plain Hes 
beyond on the other side, which, when irrigated, as is 
proposed, with the waters which will be stored up by 
means of a huge dam, constructed at San Isidro, will be- 
come a veritable Eden of agricultural prosperity. A 
winding wagon road connects the mine with the city, 
and over this tons and tons of massive machinery and 
supplies may be seen day by day being transported by 
mules. This is hke wise the main road leading to other 
mines in the neighborhood. 

The altitude is about 8,200 feet, and the atmosphere is 
as invigorating and as delightful as champagne. Work- 
ing in such a loeahty ineans more to those who are em- 
ployed there than the average mind can realise, since one 
of the greatest drawbacks and dangers attendant upon 
mining, namely, having to exist in a trying and perhaps 
a malarial atmosphere, is entirely avoided. There are no 
pestilential troubles to health nor noxious insects to deal 



The Mine's Development 135 

with, the attendant climatic and atmospheric condi- 
tions being as favorable as the most exacting could de- 
mand. 

The Peregrina property in area consists of about 
160 acres, all told. The actual mineral rights consist of 
65 pertenencias, that being the local title of a mining 
claim. The mill-site consists of over 15 acres, and has 
just been considerably extended to accommodate one- 
hundred additional stamps. Water rights permit of the 
collection of water and use of the same over an area of 
some thirty thousand acres, an advantage which need not 
be enlarged upon. Of the dam already in existence and 
a new one projected, I give fuller details elsewhere. 

In no other part of the world which I have visited have 
I encountered a more thoroughly intelligent and com- 
plete system of development than that in vogue at Pere- 
grina. Even before the present owners took over the 
mine, an enormous amount of development had been 
gone through, the Mexican proprietors having spent 
much time and energy in searching for the silver, but, 
as already pointed out, leaving out of their calculations 
the magnificent gold-values, and overlooking some of 
the finest silver-bearing veins also. There is little which 
has been lost sight of by the present proprietors. 

It has been estimated that the work already carried out 
in drifting and raising on the main vein apart from the 
shafts, amounts to miles of drivage, this having cost 
$250,000, or, say, £50,000. Almost the whole — certainly 
nine-tenths — of these miles of drifts and winzes is in good 
milling ore. The three shafts on the mine have been most 
advantageously located, and the ventilation of the work- 
ings is perfect in all respects. So much having already 



136 Mexico's Treasure-House 

been done, and all in a systematic manner, the present 
further development has been proceeded with under ex- 
ceptionally favorable conditions. 

The present depth of the bottom level will not have to 
be exceeded for a long time to come, there be- 
ing abundant ore above it for many years. The man- 
agement are now continuing the drifts to the northwest 
on the two bottom levels, and every fresh 50 meters 
driven here means another 10,000 tons of ore blocked-out 
between the levels, and as much again above as below. 

The south, or Carmen, level, is also being continued, 
and is thus extending the large and well-defined ore 
chute, so that this, in view of the great width of the vein 
that is found, means an enormous quantity of new ore 
being developed at a very little expenditure. In the near 
future the "Barreno" shaft will be further sunk; and this 
will, as a matter of course, still further extend the 
amount of tonnage in the south eiid of the mine, as well 
as opening up the latter for economical extraction. 

Owing to the scarcity of fuel in the district, which 
never at any time could have been great, but which has 
been growing less and less for many years past, the 
former workers must have found great difficulty and 
heavy expense in running what machinery they had. To- 
day, a complete transformation has come over the mining 
industry at Guanajuato, for the necessary motive power 
is that of electricity. Both the mines and mills are ad- 
mirably equipped with the latest forms of macliinery of 
this character, the current being furnished by the Guana- 
juato Power and Electric Co. at a very reasonable price, 
considerably less, I may say, than many mines have to 



Electrical Motive Power 137 

pay out West, but which still leaves a handsome profit 
to the supplying company itself. 

The motive power travels over 100 miles by cables 
from the State of Michoacan, and elsewhere will be 
found a description of the origin of the Guanajuato 
Power and Electric Co. and its methods of supplying 
the mines and the City of Guanajuato. For the two 
years that the company has been doing business the ut- 
most satisfaction has been afforded to its customers. 
Guanajuato is, in my opinion, one of the best-hghted as 
it is certainly one of the most romantically located places 
in the Republic of Mexico. The town, or rather City of 
Guanajuato, possesses nearly 80,000 inhabitants, this 
number being considerably added to day by day as the 
attractions of the mining district become better ap- 
preciated. 

One of the most valuable improvements introduced by 
the new management at the Peregrina, when the mine 
was taken over from its former owners, has been the con- 
struction of the Bryant dam, which has a holding capac- 
ity of 93,000,000 gallons and a working capacity of 
186,000,000 gallons. The height of this structure is 24 
meters, and it has a length of 100 meters; the total cost 
of building having been $25,000, or, say £5,000. 

The crushing plant and machinery which existed in 
Peregrina before The Securities Corporation, Ltd., be- 
came the owners, included the Kinkaid mills, having a 
capacity of 40 tons daily, but they have been superseded 
by a 20-stamp mill. 

The present plant also comprises the new and very 
complete 20-stamp mill, amalgamating plates and Wil- 
fley concentrators, treating over 70 tons a day of the 



138 Mexico's Treasure-House 

highest grade ores. The construction of another large 
mill, having 100 stamps, is also proceeding, the founda- 
tions being now complete, and by the time these lines 
appear in print in all probability the hum and thud of the 
full 120 stamps on the Peregrina mine will be heard day 
and night, having a combined capacity of no less than 
320 tons of ore daily. The average value of the stuff 
passed through may be taken at $10.00 {<£2) per ton, 
yielding a profit, after all expenses, losses and taxes 
have been deducted, of $1,700.00 (£340) per day, which, 
working only 340 days out of the year, is equal to $500,- 
000.00 (£100,000) a year. 

Besides the crushing machinery in use in the two mills, 
there are working a 150 horse-power steam hoist, situ- 
ated at the Guadalupe shaft, and a 30 horse-power steam 
hoist on the San Francisco shaft. Both of these hoists 
are what is known as of the double-drum type, and are 
being used for the extraction of water as well as of ore. 
An additional hoist of 55 horse-power operated by elec- 
tricity, has been erected at the Barreno shaft and a 150 
horse-power electric hoist is being installed at the San 
Francisco shaft. A 70 horse-power compressor, electric- 
ally driven, works the air-drills of the mine, and a 50 
horse-power electric pump will take out the small 
amount of water made. 

Although upon the Guanajuato mines a general type 
of crushing machinery is in use, some of the managers 
adopt one system of treating sand and slime and some 
another. There is as much difference of opinion preva- 
lent among mine managers as to which is the best treat- 
ment of ores, as there is among other experts in relation 
to other industrial enterprises. Again, each particular 



Different Ore Treatment 139 

mine has a particular kind of ore, and naturally what is 
found to be most advantageous and economical for the 
one need not necessarily be equally beneficial for the 
others. 

On the Peregrina mine an important installation will 
be made this year, namely, the Blaisdell process of hand- 
ling the sands. 




^^?sai 



,Br,**^j 



*'^S'=K>**" 





ii?" ' »T I \ 111!) ^ 

II ^.-4S#^^ J.— " 

I'ekkguixa 20-STA:\rp Mill and Foundation oivIOO-Stami- iAIill 

Belonging? to the Peregrina Mining and Milling Co. 




Chapter X. 

The Peregrina's Equipment. — The Mill. — How the Ores are Treated 
from the Time They are Brought to the Surface Until the Pro- 
duction of Gold Bars. — The Crushing Machinery. — The 
Stamps, Dies and Shoes. — The Wilfley Concentrating Tables. — 
The "Sponge." — Concentrates. — The Blaisdell Process De- 
scribed. — The Economy Effected in Labor. — The Peregrina's 
Remarkable Extractions. 

HE Peregrina stamp mill, consisting altogether 
of the 120 head of stamps, is connected with the 
mine by two tram Hnes. The ore is brought over 
this line in steel cars with a capacity of 1% tons each, and 
out of them the stuff is dimiped into bins having a hold- 
ing capacity of 200 tons. From the bins the ore is fed 
automatically through two Gates ore crushers, wherein 
it is broken up to a size that would pass through a ring 
having a diameter of 1%". From here the stuff is con- 
veyed to the ore-bins, having a holding capacity of 1,000 
tons, behind the stamps, by means of a belt-conveyer, 
and discharged by a tripping device which is under per- 
fect control, making it possible to fill the bin to its fullest 
holding capacity. Passing from the bin, the ore is fed to 
the heavy stamps by automatic appliances into the mor- 
tars, in which the stamps drop. The weight of these 
heavy stamps is 1,050 lbs. each, while the mortars them- 
selves have an individual weight of 9,000 lbs. The mas- 
sive mortars are set upon concrete blocks, securely held 
down by heavy iron bolts which pass down through the 
battery block, having stirrup-shaped loops in which are 
fixed pieces of 60 lb. steel rails. 

Page 140 



The Crushing Process 141 



The battery block is 180 feet long, 6 feet wide at the 
bottom, 4 feet wide at the top and 6 feet high, accom- 
modating the full 100 stamps. These are divided up 
into groups or batteries of 5 stamps to each mortar. The 
stamps have a drop of from 6 to 8 inches, with about 
90 drops to the minute. 

Simultaneously with the automatic feeding of the ore 
to the mortars, water is introduced, so that while the 
stamps are being lifted by means of the revolving cams, 
fixed upon the cam-shaft and dropped at regular inter- 
vals, the ore is being crushed and wetted at the same 
time. The "shoes" fixed on steel stems meet the dies as 
they drop, and thus crush the ore which is continually 
f alHng from the bin between them. Both shoes and dies 
are composed of the hardest kind of steel so as to suc- 
cessfully withstand the hard work which they have to 
perform. The action of the dropping stamps sets up 
automatically a splashing and washing motion of the 
mixed ore and water, so that so soon as the ore has been 
crushed to the proper size, it is washed out through the 
front of the battery where it is met by a frame carrying 
screens. The screens used in various mills differ some- 
what as to their coarseness or fineness, but those at the 
Peregrina mill have a mesh of 30 sqs. to 1 inch, that is to 
say, 30 small openings to the linear inch. 

The crushed material has by this time assumed the 
character and is known by the name of "pulp," being 
quite liquid in consistency. The pulp now passes over 
amalgamating plates of copper which have been previ- 
ously silver-plated and charged with quicksilver. As the 
pulp passes down and over the surface of these amalga- 
mating plates, the particles of gold, coming into contact 



142 Mexico's Treasure-House 

Vvdth the quicksilver, are held fast, the rest of the liquid 
flowing away, but leaving about 40 per cent, of the pre- 
cious metal behind on the plates. These latter are 
scraped, and the gold is thus secured. 

The next stage of the milling process is the treatment 
of the liquid, still containing, it will be remembered, 60 
per cent, of the gold and silver particles. The pulp 
flowing through the screens is thrown on one side of the 
copper plates, which have a width of 40" and a narrow 
strip of wood affixed as a dividing line in the centre, ex- 
tending the entire length of the plates, namely, 8 feet. 
While the pulp is flowing along on one side of the plates, 
the mill-men (having first washed the plates) add more 
quicksilver, the object being to soften the coating of 
gold which has formed into a hard surface as other par- 
ticles have been washed over it and have adhered. When 
the desired degree of softness has been attained, the 
whole of the deposit is removed by means of a rubber 
squeezer being pushed up and along the surface of the 
copper plates. By this action all the soft amalgam, or 
deposit, is removed easily from the one side, after which 
the flow of pulp is transferred to the other side and the 
same com*se of procedure is followed. When the plates 
have been thus completely cleaned and all the soft amal- 
gam removed from the plates of one battery, the process 
is continued to all the other batteries. The whole amount 
of soft gold deposit collected is now placed in a chamois 
leather, and subjected to a process of squeezing. The 
greater part of the quicksilver runs through and is pre- 
served for future use, while all the gold particles, as well 
as the other foreign matter, are retained, forming a ball 
which is technically termed "hard amalgam." This mass 



Separating the Gold 143 



contains about 20 per cent, of gold and 80 per cent, of 
silver, quicksilver and other matter. 

The next step in the treatment is to separate the gold 
from the silver, quicksilver and other matter with which 
it is still mixed. The whole of the rough amalgam is put 
into a retort and placed in an iron pot, with a tightly fit- 
ting lid. Inserted in this lid is a pipe, which, while the 
pot (with its retort) is being subjected to a red-hot heat 
in the furnace, connects with a tank of water. The in- 
tense heat of the furnace causes the quicksilver to become 
volatile and pass off in the form of vapour through the 
pipe, but upon again coming into contact with the water 
the quicksilver condenses, and, falling to the bottom of 
the tank, is eventually recovered and used over again. 
The quicksilver having now been entirely got rid of from 
the amalgam, the retort, having previously been allowed 
to cool, is opened and the contents — known as the 
"sponge" — is removed. This presents a pale, yellowish 
appearance owing to the purity of the gold which it con- 
tains. The "sponge" is then smelted with the necessary 
amount of flux, a substance used to gather up the 
foreign matter remaining, and forming into a kind of 
scum which can be easily removed, leaving the pure metal 
behind. The result of this treatment is a pure lump of 
gold— 990/1000 fine. 

But the whole process of recovery is even now not 
completed. There is still the treatment of the pulp res- 
idue to be considered. When leaving the copper plates 
the pulp is led through troughs to Wilfley concentrating 
tables. These are composed of wooden frames built 
upon an inclined plane, and covered with linoleum. Here 
are affixed a number of riffles, or narrow strips of wood. 



144 Mexico's Treasure-House 



The Wilfley tables are continually being shaken and agi- 
tated in much about the same manner as is the floor of a 
threshing machine. The movement is lengthwise, with 
a distance of about % of an inch, the number of "shakes" 
to the minute being about 232. The result of this agita- 
tion of the pulp is to separate the sulphides of silver as 
well as other heavy mineral particles from the sands or 
pulp, the stuff recovered being termed "concentrates," 
which is sold to the smelters for further treatment. This 
is the practice at present in force, but Guanajuato mine- 
managers are proposing to treat their concentrates them- 
selves in future, and thus effect great economies by elim- 
inating entirely the middleman's profit — in the shape 
of railroad and smelter charges. When this innovation 
has been — if it ever is — introduced, there will be no inter- 
vention between the mine-managers and the banks and 
mints which buy pure gold. The saving to the mine 
owners would be considerable. 

After leaving the concentrating tables the pulp is 
delivered to sizing and separating cones. Here the sand 
and slime are separated, the coarse sand being delivered 
to a tube-mill and the slime is run into the tanks, where 
it remains until ready for the cyanide treatment. 

In the tube-mill the sand is subjected to a treatment 
which makes it much finer, when it is again sized in the 
cone-sizer. It is now delivered to a collecting tank where 
all the water is drained away. This tank being filled, the 
gate in the bottom is opened, permitting of the Blaisdell 
process being applied. 

The Blaisdell system, as established at the Peregrina 
mines, furnishes an automatic means for charging and 
discharging the eighteen leaching tanks in which sands 



Labor Done Away With 145 

are treated. The charging is accomplished by means of 
an apparatus similar to the Butter's distributor, which 
takes the wet material directly from the collecting tanks 
and distributes it conveniently, and in a porous condi- 
tion, in the tanks, without labor of any kind. The dis- 
charging machine consists of a special arrangement of 
harrows working in the tank by means of a large ma- 
chine, setting upon the tank, and moving backward and 
forward along the row of tanks on special rails. The 
harrows throw the sand toward the centre, where they 
fall through an orifice, previously bored through the 
centre for that purpose, on to an automatically-moving 
belt below, which carries them to the tailings stacker, 
and which deposits them in an adjoining hill in large 
heaps. The charging of the tanks by this process is 
so much better than by any other that the leaching 
process is greatly aided, and a far better percentage of 
extraction is obtained. By the discharging process, all 
labor is done away with, and the cost reduced from 10c. 
(Mex.) per ton to about 2c. (Mex.) per ton. 

A more complete description of the Blaisdell system 
follows on page 147. 

The following table showing the total amount of 
values extracted by the Peregrina method of treatment 
of its ores, as well as the cost of such treatment, will no 
doubt prove of interest : 



146 Meocico's Treasure-House 



RESULTS OF TREATMENT PROCESS: 

Mine Oees: 

Saved on plates 19.7 per cent, of total value 

Saved in concentrates . . 24.23 per cent, of total value 

Saved from coarse sands 12.94 per cent, of total value 

Saved from fine sands. . 13.69 per cent, of total value 

Saved from slimes 23.76 per cent, of total value 



Total saving 94.32 per cent, of total value 

The- above results were obtained from large milling 
tests, and after a thorough preliminary examination. 
The figures refer to net extraction after allowing $20.00 
(say £4) for freight and treatment charges per ton of 
concentrates. The material assayed per ton (2,000 lbs.) 
.626 oz. gold and 17.4 oz. silver. Total value — $23.38 
(about £4/14). 

Dump Ores: 

Saved on plates 19.00 per cent, of total value 

Saved in concentrates.. 9.10 per cent, of total value 

Saved from coarse sands 14.76 per cent, of total value 

Saved from fine sands. . 15.55 per cent, of total value 

Saved from slimes 35.34 per cent, of total value 

Total saving 93.75 per cent, of total value 

These results refer to the material treated, which as- 
sayed per ton (2,000 lbs.) .26 oz. gold and 5.52 oz. silver, 
total value being $8.83 (say, £1/15/6). 



The Blaisdell Process 147 

Cost or Treatment. 

The cost of the miUing and treating the ore from the 
Peregrina mine with the plant at present in hand is as 
follows : 

Power $0.34 

Wear and tear .25 

Cyanide treatment chemicals .38 

Zinc 05 

Labour .12 

Sundries .10 

Administration .25 

Interest on investment .15 

Depreciation .21 



$1.85 
or, say 7s. 9d. per ton. 



THE BLAISDELL PROCESS. 

The purpose of the Blaisdell System, which is the in- 
vention of Mr. W. H. Blaisdell, President of the Blais- 
dell Company of Los Angeles, California, is to eliminate 
the great mass of unreliable and unskilled labour hereto- 
fore required in the cyanide plants for charging and dis- 
charging the sand vats. By this system no manual 
labour is required from the time the ore leaves the crush- 
ers until it reaches the precipitation house, or tailing 
dump. Although this system was invented and first 
placed in use but three years ago, it is now handling the 
product of over 1,000 stamps in the United States, Mex- 
ico and South Africa. 



148 3Ieooico's Treasure-House 



Among the plants using it are: 

El Oro Mining and Railway Co., Ltd., Mexico, 

Cia. Minera Las Dos Estrellas, Mexico, 

Black Mountain Mining Co., Mexico, 

Peregrina Mining and Milling Co., Mexico, 

San Prospero Mining Co., Mexico, 

Tonopah Mining Co., of Nevada, U. S. A., 

Chas. Butters and Co., Ltd., U. S. A., 

New Modderfontein G. M. Co., South Africa, 

Langlaagte Deep Mines, South Africa, 

Knights Deep, South Africa. 

The Blaisdell process has effected a great simplifica- 
tion of plant arrangement as well as operation. It dis- 
penses with the necessity for placing the sand-collecting 
vats on a plane above the sand-leaching vats and the very- 
unsatisfactory construction of superimposed tiers of 
leachers, so universally used heretofore on the Rand, and 
in some parts of America. As is shown by the cut which 
illustrates the sand department of the cyanide 
plant of the Peregrina Mining & MilHng Co. of Guan- 
ajuato, the sand collecting and leaching vats are all of 
the same size, placed on the same level, and in two paral- 
lel rows ; the four collecting vats are automatically filled 
by two Blaisdell class W-C Distributors, these machines 
being an improved patented form of Butter's Distrib- 
utor, mounted on a swinging crane, so that one distrib- 
utor serves two vats. (A Butters Distributor works 
similar to an automatic lawn-sprinkler, which is revolved 
by the force of the discharged water. ) 

The mast of the crane is mounted just outside the 
trackways running along the outside of the two rows of 
vats, in order to enable the distributor to be swung on 




Guanajuato: Stream Feeding the New Reservoir 
During the Dry Season. 

Plate :?:J.] [See page 127. 



The Ecccavator at Work 149 

one side when the excavator has to pass into position for 
emptying one of the collecting vats. 

But one excavator is required for emptying all the 
vats, collectors as well as leachers. It consists of a steel 
truss bridge of a trifle greater span than the vat di- 
ameter, being supported upon trucks having double 
flanged-wheels which travel on the trackway, above 
mentioned. At mid-span of the bridge is a large verti- 
cal shaft of soHd steel, 8 inches in diameter. The verti- 
cal shaft has two diametrically opposite f eatherways in 
which feathers slide, fixed in the large bevel-gear at 
the centre of the bridge deck, and thus is accompHshed 
the revolving motion of the four horizontal arms sus- 
pended at the foot of this vertical shaft. 

As this shaft revolves, it is automatically lowered by 
means of the left and right-hand vertical screws, which 
work in threaded bearings in the large cross-head which 
supports the vertical shaft, and which is shown near the 
top of the bridge truss. Suspended from the four hor- 
izontal arms are a number of hangers, having sohd steel 
spindles, on which are mounted concave steel discs, such 
as are used on agricultural harrows. It will be noted 
that the discs are placed obliquely to the radii of the 
beams, so that the furrow made by one disc is rolled over 
towards the center of the vat by the disc on the follow- 
ing arm. This rolling motion gives a minimum of fric- 
tion, so that the power required for performing the work 
is very insignificant, being about .075 horse-power per 
ton excavated. The machine is actuated by small elec- 
trical motors which receive current from trolley wires 
strung along the outside of each row of vats. 



150 Mexico's Treasure-House 

For filling the sand-leaching vats, there is required 
only one distributor. It is a steel truss bridge and is 
of much simpler design than that required for the ex- 
cavator. On this bridge is a short belt conveyor which 
delivers the sand, discharged by means of a travelling 
tripper on the conveyor running between the two rows 
of leaching vats, to the centre of the distributor bridge, 
where the sand falls on to a centrifugal distributing 
plate, which showers it lightly and uniformly into the 
vat. This machine uses the same trackway and trolley 
wires as the excavator, a transfer-table being employed 
for moving the machines from one row of vats to the 
other. 

There are also the following conveyors: Conveyors 
Nos. 1 and 4 underneath the two rows of collecting vats 
and delivering to Conveyor No. 3 via the short cross-con- 
veyors, Nos. 2 and 5. Underneath the two rows of leach- 
ing vats are the two reversible conveyors, Nos. 6 and 7, 
which, when running to the left, return the sand for 
double treatment to Conveyor No. 3, or, when running 
to the right, deliver the taiUngs to the stackings con- 
veyor. No. 8. At the head, or discharge, end of Con- 
veyor No. 8 is a rotating drum or pulley having on it 
triangular-shaped hard steel beaters, or "batters," and 
as the tailings are discharged from the conveyor they are 
thrown some 25 or 30 feet beyond the end of the con- 
veyor by means of this rapidly revolving beater, which 
is known as the Blaisdell Class N. Tailings Stacker. 

The purpose of this machine is to avoid the construc- 
tion of a high trestle way (such as is quite common on 
the Rand) , for by means of this device the dump is built 
sufficiently in advance of the conveyor to enable the lat- 



The Blaisdell Process 151 

ter to be gradually extended outward upon it, and there 
is required merely a very inexpensive substructure con- 
sisting of cross-ties and stringers, for carrying the con- 
veyors' idlers, or pulleys. 

To avoid frequent splicing of the conveyor belting, 
there is introduced near the tail-end of the conveyor an 
expansion loop, usually about fifty feet between bend- 
pulleys, which enables the conveyor to be extended for 
nearly fifty feet, without adding additional belting. The 
operation of this expansion-loop is very simple, and will 
be readily understood by anyone familiar with conveyor 
work. 

After the dump has been built on an incline to any de- 
sired height by means of the Class N Stacker, described 
above, an additional conveyor equipped with the same 
machine is started level at the height so attained. When 
the new conveyor has been completed to its maximum 
distance, the Class N Stacker is dispensed with, and a 
new device known as Class L Stacker is put on this con- 
veyor for the purpose of extending the dump horizon- 
tally on a radius equal to the full length of the conveyor. 
The principle of the Class L Stacker is almost identical 
with the Class N, the only difference being that the re- 
volving beater, which throws the taiHngs, is mounted on 
an automatic reversible travelling tripper. Referring 
once again to the half-tone cut, the operation of the 
plant with the machines in the position shown in the 
drawing, is as follows : — 

One of the Class W-C distributors is filling one of 
the collecting vats; the excavator has moved into position 
over one of the leaching vats, raised the taper discharge 
plug at the center of the vat by means of a hoist on the 



152 Mexico's Treasure-House 



excavator bridge, thereby creating an opening through 
which to discharge the vat contents on to Conveyor No. 7 
below. The traveUing chute or loading hopper over Con- 
veyor No. 7 has been placed in position under the centre 
of the vat-opening, and Conveyors Nos. 7, 5, 3 have 
been started by means of electrical switches on a conven- 
iently-located switchboard. The Class Z-S Distributor 
is in position over the leaching vat to be filled, and the 
movable tripper on Conveyor No. 3 is situated so as to 
properly discharge the load of Conveyor No. 3 on to the 
cross-conveyor of Class Z-S Distributor. The excava- 
tor is then started and the sand is automatically trans- 
ferred for double treatment at the rate of one hundred 
tons per hour, and at a cost of about half a cent per ton 
(one farthing). 

For discharging and stacking on to the dump, Con-- 
veyor 7 or 6, running to the right, is employed together 
with Conveyor 8, the stacker and the excavator. 

For transferring a collecting-vat charge to a leaching 
vat, the excavator. Conveyors 1, 2, 3 or 4, 5, 3 and the 
Class Z-S Distributor, are used. 

After starting the equipment in any of these opera- 
tions, it runs automatically, and should the operator fail 
to return at the proper time it will automatically stop. 




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Chapter XL 



The Mineral Development Company. — Capital and Directorate. — 
The Nueva Luz. — The Mother Lode and the Nopal Veins. — 
The Vein Systems. — Former Erratic Workings. — Bookkeeping 
in the Olden Days. — The Government's Share; How was it 
Computed.? — The Shaft. — Its Cost and Time of Construction. 
— The La Torre Mines. — Bright Prospects Ahead. — The Work 
of the Future. — The La Sorda, and its Present Development. — 
The La Planta. 

THE Mineral Development Company of Guana- 
juato and 'New York is composed of a number 
of gentlemen nearly all of whom are members — 
and distinguished members — of the mining or kindred 
engineering professions in the United States. It is but 
seldom that one finds a financial syndicate composed al- 
most exclusively of such professional men, and it should 
prove of considerable benefit to the mining district gen- 
erally, for many reasons. 

The Mineral Development Company acts up to its 
name, for it actively "develops" the properties which it 
acquired by means of its own money, through the avail- 
able professional knowledge possessed by its own mem- 
bers, and upon a system which one may accept for 
granted is the best for the purposes. 

The capital of the Development Company is $1,000,- 
000 (say £200,000), of which less than $600,000 has 
been issued. It is not intended to increase this issue un- 
less the prospects of the various virgin properties war- 
rant the company in extending their operations. The 
stares are of a par value of $50,00, and there is but one 

Page 153 



154 Mexico's Treasure-House 

class in issue. The Directors are as follows: President, 
Mr. Theodore Dwight, M. A. I. M. M. and I. and S. I.; 
Vice-Presidents, Captain W. Murdoch Wiley and R. V. 
Norris; L. H. Taylor, Jr.; Mr. J. P. Whitney; Major 
Charles E. Lydecker; Dr. Joseph Struthers; Mr. Vir- 
don and Mr. J. E. Van Doren, Secretary and Treasurer. 
The offices of the company are at 99 John street. New 
York; Dover, Delaware, and at the mines at Nueva 
Luz, Guanajuato, Mexico. Mr. H. H. Miller, E. M., 
is Resident Manager. 

Certainly the choice of properties made as a start has 
been a singularly happy one. Although they have their 
way yet to make, and their history is as yet practically an 
unopened book, the prospects of the company's holdings 
are sufficiently encouraging; and the splendid reputa- 
tion of their immediate neighbors is so suggestive, that 
no fear need be entertained of the ultimate results. As 
will be seen, the ground occupied by the Mineral Devel- 
opment Company is in part historic, on account of what 
has been produced all around, there being a record of 
over $800,000,000 to the credit of the Mother Vein at 
Guanajuato and which passes through the properties of 
the company. They have this also to aid them, the fact 
that this truly remarkable vein of ore has never failed, in 
all the 300 years and more that it has been worked, to 
yield paying ore in return for a well conceived and intel- 
ligently carried out system of development. The com- 
pany are the owners of the following properties: The 
Nueva Luz, about one mile distant from the City of 
Guanajuato; the La Torre mines, which are about five 
miles distant, in addition to La Planta and La Sorda, the 
former on the Mother Vein and the latter on the Sierra 



The Nueva Luz 155 



system. The first named (Nueva Luz) covers an area 
of 72 acres, and the second (La Torre) has a superficial 
area of about 90 acres. 

The amount of ground which is occupied by Nueva 
Luz mine, as already stated, is some 72 acres, situated in 
the angle between the Valenciana and the Nopal, as also 
mentioned. On the Nueva Luz the rich ore bodies dip 
directly from the Valenciana, entering it at an angle of 
45 degrees, and at a depth of 1,950 feet below the sur- 
face at a point opposite the general shaft of the Valenci- 
ana. The ore bodies of the Mother Lode continue 
down, and have been stoped almost to a side line of the 
Nueva Luz, say about 150 feet. As far as human judg- 
ment goes, and in accordance with all reasonable suppo- 
sition, the same rich ore bodies must continue down and 
into Nueva Luz ground. 

Then, again, there are the Nopal veins which run di- 
rectly through the property of Nueva Luz, these same 
veins having yielded ore as far down as they have been 
followed on the latter company's ground about 700-800 
feet and representing conditions — and consequently fu- 
ture prospects of richness — identical with those of the 
Nopal mine. Between the years 1860 and 1880 the No- 
pal mine, by the aid of horse whims and the patio pro- 
cess, produced over eight million dollars in silver and 
gold, following the ore shoots to depths of 700 feet be- 
low this smaller vein to reach the limits of the surface. 
It required less depth in profitable work with the old 
primitive mining methods than in the larger and richer 
Mother Lode mines. 

As a matter of fact, there are three different and dis- 
tinct systems of veins known to traverse the Nueva Luz 



156 Mexico's Treasure-House 

ground. The first, the Mother Lode system, to which 
the Nopal vein belongs, runs from northwest to south- 
east and dips southwest (from N. 45 degrees W. to S. 
45 degrees S. W.) The Mother Lode, on the other hand, 
is itself one of three parallel vein systems which course in 
a northwest and southwest direction, being well defined 
and having huge outcroppings which may be traced with 
ease for many miles. In a linear extent of 10,000 feet 
this lode has been productive, its richest output having 
been within 6,500 feet along it. 

The second system of veins on the Nueva Luz is a 
transverse one, running from southwest to northeast 
and dipping southeast. These veins strike across the 
first named at almost right angles, having on them the 
veins of Manon and Nueva Luz, and upon which the 
tunnels of the same names are run, and of which mention 
is made later on. 

The third system is that to which the Flat (of Nueva 
Luz) and the Santa Inez (of the Nopal) belong. 

The first ore struck was on the ground at the intersec- 
tion of the Manon vein with the cross-vein of the second 
system, west of the Canada de San Matias. Upon its dis- 
covery, this ore was followed down until the workers 
were driven out by the water, and, although a small one 
only, the shoot yielded some very promising ore. How 
far the ore goes at present is unknown, as the water 
renders it impossible to make a proper investigation. 

The ground here seems to have been worked in a very 
erratic manner by its owner, one Manuel Godoy. He 
appears to have preserved no records of what work he 
did or of what it cost him to do it, very unhke the ma- 
jority of the mine owners of the Guanajuato and other 




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The Nopal Vein 157 



Mexican mining districts, who kept voluminous records 
of their transactions, not always reliable, perhaps, since 
some of them, at least, maintained one set of books for 
their own information and another for that of the Gov- 
ernment officials, who based the amount of taxation upon 
what they were shown in the books which were presented 
for their inspection. I have, however, seen records going 
back further than a century, and kept in a most neat and 
business like manner; who can say, however, at this stage 
— and who then, for the matter of that — ^that the figures 
provided are reliable? But Senor Godoy kept no ac- 
counts at all, and it would be interesting to know how he 
managed to square-up with the government of his day. 

The Nopal vein has yielded some good ore, which has 
been worked to a length of 1,000 feet. The owners pur- 
sued methods of their own, there being no systematic 
manner of working the vein or making a continuous 
stope, large patches of unbroken ground being left be- 
tween the various workings. However, the Nopal vein 
was followed into the property of Nueva Luz, and a 
quantity of ore taken out for which the trespassers had 
to pay $14,000 as damages. Thereafter a strong iron 
gate was put up at the junction of the two properties 
underground, which marked the boundary-line. 

One particularly favorable feature possessed by the 
Nopal vein is its persistency in strike and output. The 
outcrops are clearly visible throughout the territory of 
the Nopal and that of the Nueva Luz mines, and for 
a length of more than a mile. Reliable authorities con- 
sider that from these surface indications on the last 
named mine, it is probable that these veins will make 
ore bodies in depth of that mine similar — or practically 



158 Mexico's Treasure-House 

similar — to those formed in them on the Nopal mine. 
It is worthy of note that the highest values made were 
those almost 1,000 feet distant from the Nopal line, the 
ore at this point being rich in gold. 

In deciding to develop the Nueva Luz property, very 
careful plans were prepared after a thorough examina- 
tion of the ground had been made by more than one 
competent mining engineer. The outcome of the in- 
vestigation was the decision to sink a deep shaft in- 
tended to cut the Valenciana ore shoot in a depth below 
the old workings. Here I may mention that the Valen- 
ciana mine itself has a shaft down 1,800 feet vertically, 
and this has a diameter of 32 feet. The shaft being car- 
ried a little further down — some seven feet, making the 
total depth 1,807 feet — was abandoned by the then 
owners on account of the cost of unwatering by means 
of the inefficient methods then available. 

The Mineral Development Company intend continu- 
ing the work where the previous owners left off. There 
are ore bodies going, as has been proved beyond any 
reasonable doubt, into the Nueva Luz ground, and this 
company's shaft will, as I have said, cut the Valenciana 
ore shoot. The shaft, originally measuring 11 x 11 feet, 
has been converted into a modern 3-compartment shaft 
measuring 5 x 16 feet. It is already down 416 feet, and 
the total depth to which it is anticipated the shaft will go 
is 2,920 feet. This wiU be at the centre and at the lowest 
available point on the Nueva Luz ground. As the shaft 
goes down it will cut the veins of the Nopal group as 
well as the Santa Inez vein, this latter being met with at 
about 800 feet below the surface. Cross-cuts and drifts 
will then be run out at the most appropriate points, in or- 



La Torre Mines 159 



der to develop these several well-proven veins. The 
shaft, as left by the former owners, was in good condi- 
tion, and has been furnished now with a 50 horse-power 
double drum electric hoist, the shaft being actively pro- 
ceeded with day and night. 

This shaft will probably be used in connection with 
the Nopal system of veins, and an additional one sunk 
for the purpose of working the Mother Vein, a cross cut 
being planned from the 2,300 foot level, equivalent to 
about 2,500 feet when compared with the Valenciana, as 
the collar is about 200 feet lower than the latter. 

The character of the rock encountered is favorable 
for working, since it is not hard driUing and stands well 
without the necessity of timbering. A modern electric 
pump is capable of handling all the water which the 
shaft may make. To reach the Mother Lode vein will 
require about two years continual work. The total cost 
will probably be about $200,000 (Mex.) , or say £20,000. 

I now propose to speak of the Mineral Development 
Company's second important mining properties known 
as the La Torre mines, which are situated about five 
miles southeast of the City of Guanajuato. The princi- 
pal vein passing through the property is once again the 
celebrated Mother Vein. The greatest bonanzas ever 
encountered in the Mother Vein were those at the inter- 
section of the hanging wall veins. In this La Torre 
property, there unquestionably intersects, judging from 
its direct course, the Carmen gold vein, which is now in 
bonanza on a property within half a mile distant from 
the La Torre mines. This Carmen mine was lately sold 
in New York, and the company is in active operation 
to-day, rapidly blocking out enormous quantities of rich 
gold ore. 



160 Mexico's Treasure-House 

The La Torre mines cover a superficial area of about 
90 acres, the claim running about 4,000 feet (almost a 
mile) on the strike of the Mother Vein, and having a 
width, and consequently a vertical depth on the vein, of 
from 1,000 to 1,500 feet (the vein dipping 45 degrees 
from the horizontal) . The surface is undulating, there 
being a gradual rise towards the south end of the claim, 
and the ground slopes to the southwest with the dip of 
the vein, thus affording opportunities for shafts sunk 
cutting the vein on the dip with comparatively slight 
amount of sinking in good depth, as compared to the 
outcrop of the vein. The outcropping of the Mother 
Vein is distinctly visible to the eye through the en- 
tire claim, presenting an impressive appearance, some 
40 or 50 feet in width. Sampling of the outcrop shows 
the vein to be mineralized, even at surface '^( which is quite 
rare for this vein), but no development work has ever 
been done, and the property presents an absolutely vir- 
gin piece of ground. 

For two centuries the work on this Mother Vein was 
confined to the central group of mines, comprising those 
between, and including, the Valenciana and Sirena. Dur- 
ing the 19th century, however, the development work 
was pushed south and the Cedro mines opened up, yield- 
ing many millions. These mines are now in operation, 
owned by a powerful American corporation, and are 
producing handsome profits. Later, the Cardones 
mines, which are still further to the south, gave a bo- 
nanza of high-grade gold ores; and, still further to the 
south, the La Union Tunnel (immediately adjoining 
the La Torre mines to the north) has been opened up 
within the past ten years with the result of now yielding 




Shaft and Electric Hoist at the Nueva Luz Mine. 

Belongiwg to the Mineral Development Co., Guanajuato. 



Plate 36.] 



[See page ItiO. 



La Union Tunnel 161 

very good profits both in gold and silver, although, as 
yet, only partially developed. It has been worked in 
the slowest manner, being owned and controlled by one 
man, who is not a miner, his work consisting principally 
of a tunnel on the vein and from this tunnel level, 
two winzes on pay ore, in the sinking of which there 
was an actual production for 21 months (as per copy 
of all mill returns) of 2,469 metric tons, having an aver- 
age assay value of 31 ounces silver and 28/100 ounces 
gold per ton. The average value per ton was $21.10 
U. S. Cy. for the full width of the pay ore, which 
is about 8 feet, although the width of the entire vein in 
this property, as proved by several crosscuts at the tun- 
nel level, is 60 feet from wall to wall. All of this ore 
came from only two parallel winzes sunk below tunnel 
level, the greatest depth of which was 60 meters. At the 
point at which this mineral was found, no crosscuts had 
then been made towards the f ootwall, all the ore extract- 
ed being from the hanging waU. The grade o± the ore 
was materially increasing in value with depth, notably 
so in its gold value. This was the condition of the La 
Union Tunnel about January 1, 1902. 

All this property is immediately adjoining the La 
Torre mines on the same vein. Beyond any question 
this vein continues to be mineralized through the La 
Torre property. The work to be done in exploring the 
property consists of a timnel to be run in from the hang- 
ing wall, to cut the vein at an approximate depth of 200 
feet below surface. This will cost about $3,000 Mex- 
ican currency; various incHnes investigating the vein at 
favorable points should not cost more than $3,000 Mex- 
ican currency in addition. With the information gained 



162 Mexico's Treasure-House 

from these explorations a shaft could be sunk to 400 
feet vertical depth, which would cut the vein on its dip 
600 feet below its outcrop, and this could be done on the 
remaining $14,000 of the $20,000 Mexican currency 
which must be spent on tb s development of the property 
under the terms of sale. One or two cheap buildings, a 
horse whim, cable and horses, are included in the above 
estimate of expending $20,000 Mexican currency. 

The Mineral Development Company has done no 
work on the La Torre property since January, 1905, 
merely proving the vein for from 500 to 600 feet. 

La Sorda mine is a virgin prospect which the com- 
pany is now exploring. It is on the Sierra system, and 
while the openings have not yet passed through the 
leached ground, stringers running very high in values 
have been encountered. The three parallel veins outcrop- 
ping on this property are strongly defined, and are of 
considerable width. Until further development has 
taken place, little more can be said. The property em- 
braces 100 pertenencias, or say 100 hectares=247 acres. 
The La Planta property belonging to the same com- 
pany is at present also undeveloped. 

The Development Company prides itself upon the 
fact that it has not found it necessary to issue any kind 
of advertising matter nor yet a circular for the pur- 
pose of soliciting subscriptions among the investing 
public. Several applications from would-be investors 
have, it is said, on the other hand been declined, such ad- 
ditional subscriptions as have been accepted being those 
of the original organizers and their friends, mostly be- 
longing to the engineering professions. 



Chapter XII. 



The Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines. — Some Celebrated 
Properties. — The Company's Directorate and Capital. — The 
Old Workings. — Mexican Methods. — The New Management. — 
The Shafts. — Geological Peculiarities. — Enormous Ore Bodies. 
— SarapleiS and Their Yield. — Colossal Dumps and Their 
Values. — Underground Work. — What Has Been Done. — 
Future Developments. — Dangerous Working. — Clean Record 
of "No Accidents/' to Date. — Some Heavy Work Ahead. — 
Capable and Efficient Management. 

THE La Luz district of Guanajuato is one of 
the most famous and historically interesting in 
the whole camp. In 1842 the great "bonanza" 
commenced and continued for a period of several consec- 
utive years. Hundreds of miners, with the usual shifting 
and rolling-stone propensities of their kind, left the 
other districts for La Luz, and for a few months, at 
least, the paucity of labor was a serious matter for the 
rest of the Guanajuato mines. The town of La Luz be- 
came a beehive of industry and the liveliest in the State, 
the population growing from a mere handful to a for- 
midable army of over 20,000 souls in a few months' time. 
The annual output from this rich district amounted to 
several millions of dollars. The town to-day is still one 
of the most picturesque that I have seen in the whole of 
Mexico, with its exteriorally beautiful old church, and 
occupies a position which practically overlooks the en- 
tire country. From the full panoramic picture which I 
give of the country, it will be seen that the position of 
La Luz is almost unique. But the glories of La Luz 

Page 163 



164 Meooico's Treasure-House 

commenced to wane when the star of the Rul mines be- 
gan to rise, and in or about the year 1860 one heard little 
more of La Luz, but nevertheless it continued to distin- 
guish itself as a good producer for some time to come. 

The names of "Jesus Maria," "Villarino," "Sangre de 
Cristo," "Providencia," "Remedios" and "Dolores" are 
all historic names, and these mines are to-day being one 
by one redeveloped and opened up gradually by the 
Amalgamated Gold Mines Company of Guanajuato, 
which owns them all. The "Jesus Maria" in particular 
has a remarkable record as a producer, having probably 
yielded the greatest amount of value in proportion to its 
size of any mine in Mexico. The group worked by this 
company is known under the title of "Negociacion de la 
Paz," and from first to last the mines enumerated above 
are said to have produced something like $25,000,000, or, 
say, £5,000,000. 

The Amalgamated Gold Mines Company is an Amer- 
ican corporation, promoted and financed by the Colonial 
Securities Company of New York, and having its head 
offices also in that city. The directorate is composed as 
follows : Mr. Albert J. Adams, President ; Mr. Rich- 
ard W. Cannon, Vice-President; Mr. George Karsch, 
Treasurer and Secretary. The management at La Luz 
consists of Mr. Lawrence P. Adams, Manager in Chief; 
Mr. John F. Smith, Superintendent; Mr. E. Harris, 
Chief Miner, and Mr. V. B. Sherrod as Constructing 
and Mining Engineer. 

The company's capital is $3,000,000, divided as fol- 
lows: Purchasing and financing the mines $1,650,000; 
imissued stock used for working capital, &c., $1,350,000. 
It is hoped that in due course of time the ore in sight and 




La Tokke jNIine. 

Property of the Mineral Development Co., Guanajuato 



Plate 37.] 



[See page 162, 



Old Machinery Replaced 165 

ready for treatment will yield more than $5,000,000, but 
this is exclusive of the ore below the present level. The 
estimate is made up as follows: 

Ore dumps, amounting to 250,000 tons $875,000 

Mine fillings, 250,000 tons 1,625,000 

Ore in sight, 300,000 tons @ $15.00 per ton 3,300,000 



Total: $5,800,000 
Less contingency @ 10% 580,000 



Net total: $5,220,000 

These profits can only commence to accumulate when 
the mill, now being constructed, is completed. This 
will be about the end of the current year, the work being 
extremely well and substantially carried out. In fact I 
have not seen better constructional work at any mine in 
the world than that being put in at the Jesus Maria mine 
at La Luz. 

The machinery used by the former owners was not of 
a very valuable or useful nature, and an entirely new in- 
stallation is being made. Within recent years a small 
steam hoist was installed, and still more recently an elec- 
tric hoist of 30 horse-power was put in at the Villarino 
shaft ; but this did not help matters much, for the best 
stopes were far below the bottom of the Villarino shaft, 
and the ore, waste and water still had to be handled by 
hand labor up more than 200 feet of ladders before the 
hoist could be of service. 

The ground is held by mining titles from the Mexican 
Government, the following being a list of the claims and 
their areas: 



166 Mexico's Treasure-House 

I. Title No. 1451 for La Paz 

Mine containing 14.2572 Hectares 

II. Title No. 2562 for La Paz 

y Anexas, containing. . . . 13.6270 Hectares 
III. Title No. 3590 for La Paz 

y Anexas, containing 18.1520 Hectares 



Total: 46.0362 Hectares 

In addition to the above, 17 hectares have been re- 
cently denounced to cover the dip of the vein. This 
claim, known as "El Atleta," is still pending in the Gov- 
ernment Mining Agency. The present management has 
already done some good work. Five shafts have been 
sunk on the property, three of which are now open, and 
any one of which could be made into a working shaft for 
modern hoisting methods. Of these three, that called 
"Providencia" is about 10 feet in diameter and 500 feet 
deep. Another called "Jesus Maria" is about 12 feet in 
diameter and 850 feet deep, and this is the best situated 
for operating and developing the mine in connection 
with a modern milling plant. A third, known as "Vil- 
larino," is about 12 feet in diameter and 600 feet deep, 
and also excellently located for use as an auxiliary shaft, 
should one be required. There are a great many drifts, 
crosscuts, etc., driven in the usual Mexican fashion. In 
addition to these, there is the usual Mexican equipment 
of horse whims, hand tools, rails, cars, houses, etc., a 
good deal of which can be profitably utilized in modern- 
izing the equipment. 



(Note. — A hectare is 10,000 square meters, or 2.471 acres; 
46.0362 hectares being equal to 113.7555 acres.) 



JLa Luz Fein 167 



A few words concerning the geological formation of 
this country may be useful. In brief, the veins are strong 
fissures in igneous rocks called diorite, the diorite lying 
within a large field of andesite, porphyry, etc. The vein 
filling is quartz strongly impregnated with calcite, which 
in spots amounts to over 15 per cent, of the gangue. The 
silver occurs principally as the simple sulphides, occa- 
sionally associated with antimony. The gold is found 
in small particles of pyrites scattered throughout the 
gangue and as free gold, rather finely divided. The prin- 
cipal vein system is formed by the junction of the two 
veins, known as "La Luz" vein and "Los Plateros" vein, 
and dips to the west at an angle of about 50 degrees. 

The La Luz vein has a strike of about N. 12 degrees 
W. and dips to the west at an angle of about 57 degrees. 
The Plateros vein has a strike of about N. 40 degrees W., 
forming a junction with La Luz vein at a distance of 
about 1,000 feet south of the north-end lines of the 
property, the junction at surface being between Provi- 
dencia and Jesus Maria. Owing to the difference be- 
tween the dip and the strike of the two veins, the junc- 
tion rakes to the south on the dip, and at a point about 
800 feet below the surface the junction is about 400 feet 
farther south than at the surface. The largest ore bodies 
have been formed near or at this intersection, and there 
is every reason to expect that this junction will continue 
to supply large quantities of ore to a much greater depth 
than has yet been attained in this district. From this 
junction north, the La Luz vein passes successively 
through "Los Locos," "La Trinidad," "El Refugio," 
and La Luz group of mines, which have had a combined 
production of $240,000,000, exclusive of La Paz group. 



168 Mexico's Treasure-House 

La Luz vein is unknown south of this junction, and 
within La Paz boundaries, but is supposed to be first 
seen to the south in the adjoining mine called "Santo 
Nino." The Plateros vein is but little known outside of 
La Paz boundaries, although it has produced immense 
quantities of high-grade silver ores from within La Paz 
ground. It is the more recently formed of the two veins, 
and probably "faulted" La Luz vein in crossing it. The 
gangue from Plateros vein is remarkably high in calcite. 
There are other veins on the property, most of which 
are probably secondary fissures uniting with the princi- 
pal veins near the junction. These veins have yielded 
good ore bodies in places ; although they have been but 
little explored. 

Naturally all the good ore in the upper workings of 
the ore bodies so far discovered has been stoped out. 
This is generally the case in Mexico, as the Mexican 
system of mining does not include the blocking out of 
ore reserves. The ore stoped from these workings was 
roughly sorted under ground, leaving the lower grade 
ore as fillings in the old stopes, and further sorted by 
hand, breaking and washing after reaching the surface. 
The result of this system of mining is that large quanti- 
ties of low grade, but profitable, ore are lying in the 
old stopes, and large dumps of the same material are 
lying on the surface. This material without further 
sorting can be treated at a good profit by modern 
methods. 

The Providencia shaft, located near the north end of 
the property, is the most recent of any of the shafts, 
having been sunk since 1898. It was sunk to develop 
the La Luz vein on the north end of the property, and is 




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Some Good Results 169 

in the neighborhood of 600 feet in depth. The La Luz 
vein at this end of the mine passes out of La Paz 
ground and into that of Los Locos ground on the dip 
at a vertical depth of approximately 750 feet. At a 
depth of about 2,000 feet the vein again passes out of 
Los Locos and into La Paz ground, the former being a 
small area of ground lying partially within the bound- 
aries of La Paz property. At a short distance farther 
south, however, the La Paz ground covers the entire 
dip of the vein to a depth of a httle more than 2,000 
feet and the dip is still further protected by claims, the 
titles to which are now pending in the Government De- 
partmento de Fomento. Something like 800 feet of 
drifting and exploring have been done in the territory 
adjacent to this shaft, with practically no stoping. An 
average of four samples taken from a dump of 15,000 
tons of ore mined from these workings yielded the fol- 
lowing results: Silver, $2.48; gold, $2.34; making a 
total of $4.82 — say, 19 s. per metric ton. The ore in 
this dump having been sorted before having been put 
on the dump, does not represent the average value of 
the ore taken from drifting and development work in 
this portion of the mine. An average of six samples rep- 
resenting the width of the vein in this part of the mine 
gave the following results : Width of vein, 4.7 feet ; sil- 
ver, $2.21; gold, $5.68; making a total of $7.89, say 
£1/11 per metric ton. 

The Jesus Maria shaft is a vertical shaft which is 
sunk in the hanging wall, and which cuts the La Luz and 
Plateros veins on their dip at approximately 700 feet be- 
low the collar of the shaft. The shaft passes through the 
veins at their intersection with each other, and at a point 



170 Mexico's Treasure-House 

where the ore body was wide. In later years, the Mexi- 
cans stoped out this ore as far as possible, but they left 
no shaft pillars, with the result that the shaft has caved in 
at this point, and the workings in its neighborhood are 
generally inaccessible. The ore chute formed at this 
junction was about 600 feet in length, and in that por- 
tion which is still accessible it averages 9.8 feet in width. 
The average of 27 samples taken across the vein at va- 
rious parts of these workings gave the following re- 
sults: Width of vein, 9.8 feet; silver, $2.98; gold, $5.60; 
making a total of $8.50 (say £1/16) per metric ton. 
There are three levels in the bottom of this shaft which 
are now filled with water and inaccessible; but the 
sampling showed no change in values between the upper 
and lowest accessible levels of this ore body. It is 
claimed by all the old employes of the former operators 
that the width and values are maintained in the lowest 
levels. 

The ViUarino shaft is located about 328 meters 
south of the Jesus Maria shaft, and intersects the vein 
at a point south of the large ore chute above described. 
The workings tributary to this shaft were formerly 
known as "Sangre de Cristo," and the ore was formerly 
hoisted through the old San Antonio shaft. The ore 
body in the upper workings of the mine is distinct, and 
separated from the Jesus Maria ore chute by a barren 
streak in the vein. As this ore chute is at right angles 
to the strike of the vein, it unites with the Jesus Maria 
ore chute at approximately 500 feet below surface, form- 
ing one continuous ore body about 1,000 feet in length, 
and extending both north and south from the junction 
of the two veins. Twenty-six samples taken across the 



Estimated Tonnage 171 

vein in the various accessible drifts and winzes gave the 
following results: Width of vein, 8.6 feet; silver, $4.75; 
gold, $3.32; making a total of $8.07 (<£l/12) per 
metric ton. 

The Plateros vein north of the junction contained a 
greater percentage of its values in silver than any other 
portion of the mine, and for that reason was more 
amenable to hand sorting and treatment by the old patio 
process. It has, therefore, been completely worked out 
to water level, and the workings are now filled and 
inaccessible. It is believed that in the drifts below 
water level the vein carries very good values at every 
point. 

Practically all of the old stopes at or near the junc- 
tion ore body are filled with broken ore remaining as 
waste after the preliminary underground sorting. These 
workings are accessible only in those places where drifts 
have recently been spiled through the old caves, and 
even a rough estimate of tonnage is impossible. An 
average of 32 samples taken from points now accessible 
gave the following results : Silver, $5.15 ; gold, $5.31 ; 
making a total of $10.46 per metric ton. Judging from 
the dimensions of those parts of the vein now accessible, 
a conservative estimate would place the tonnage at 200,- 
000 metric tons. There is but little doubt that practi- 
cally all of this ore can be cheaply and safely obtained, 
and without doubt large quantities of ore will be found 
still standing in these stopes, as it was the practice of the 
Mexicans to mine the better grade of ore only, and to 
leave standing that portion of the vein which was found 
of too low grade for the old patio treatment. 



172 Mexico's Treasure-House 

There are three huge dumps on this company's prop- 
erty and which are comparatively easy to measure and 
sample, and one other very much older dump. The 
Jesus Maria Dump was estimated by cross sectioning 
and sampling, the following being an average of 
54 samples: Tonnage, 260,000; silver, $2.70; gold, 
$3.60; making a total of $6.30 per metric ton. The 
Villarino Dump contains 20,000 tons, the average of 
seven samples being as follows: Silver, $2.05; gold, 
$2.36; total, $4.41 per metric ton. The Providencia 
Dump has a tonnage of 15,000; average of 4 samples 
—silver, $2.48; gold, $2.34; making a total of $4.82 
per metric ton. The Remedios Dump has a tonnage of 
12,000; average of 4 samples — silver, $2.61 ; gold, $1.91 ; 
making a total of $4.52 per metric ton. The total ton- 
nage of broken ore, not including the Villarino, Provi- 
dencia, or Remedios Dumps, is as follows : 

Fillings, 200,000 tons at $10.46 $2,092,000.00 

Dumps, 260,000 tons at 6.30 1,638,000.00 

Total, 460,000 tons at 8.108 $3,730,000.00 

Approximately 40 per cent, of the above values is 
in silver and 60 per cent, in gold. These ores have been 
successfully treated by a combination of cyaniding and 
concentration at the Purisima cyanide plant (a small 
custom mill in Guanajuato), and experimental tests on 
a laboratory scale have confirmed the above statement, 
giving an extraction by cyaniding alone of over 70 per 
cent, of the silver and 90 per cent, of the gold, or an 
extraction of 82 per cent, of the total values. This ex- 
traction can undoubtedly be increased to 90 per cent, of 
the total values by the use of amalgamating plates to 




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The Value of a Dump 173 



remove the coarse gold, and of concentrators to remove 
the coarser sulphides before cyaniding. Calculating 
upon the above basis, the following is an estimate of the 
profit that ought to be made in the. treatment of the 
dumps and filUngs: 

Cost of drawing, hoisting and tramiX'ing 

of 200,000 tons of fillings at 40c. per ton $ 80,000.00 
Crushing, milHng and cyaniding at $2.25 

per ton 450,000.00 



Total cost of treating fillings $530,000.00 

Relying upon a total recovery of 85 per cent, of the 
gross values, there would be recovered in bullion from 
these fillings $1,778,200.00, leaving a net profit from 
the treatment of the mine fillings of $1,248,200.00 (say 
roughly £250,000). 

Cost of loading and tramming 260,000 

tons from dump to mill at 20c. per ton $52,000.00 
Crushing, milling and cyaniding at $2.25 585,000.00 



Total cost of treating dump. $637,000.00 

A recovery of 85 per cent, of the gross value of this 
dump should produce in bulHon $1,492,300.00, leaving 
a net profit of $855,300.00, making a total net profit 
from the treatment of dump and mine fillings of 
$2,103,500.00 (£420,700). 

The first underground work of importance under- 
taken was the timbering of the Jesus Maria shaft, on 
which steady progress has been made on the day shift 
only, and has now reached a point 120 meters from sur- 
face. In traversing this distance, two large caves had 
to be contended with; their measurements being ap- 



174 Mexico's Treasure-House 

proximately 75x40x20 feet and 130x30x18 feet, 
which, after deducting measurement of displacement of 
timber, will require about 100,000 cubic feet of fQling. 
This filling is now being done with debris from the sur- 
face, which is conveyed down the shaft through a series 
of wood launders or boxes joined together in 12-foot 
lengths. These two caves proved to be large, soft decom- 
posed dioritic porphyry dikes, having approximately the 
same strike and dip as the quartz veins, and the water 
they carry in the wet season being undoubtedly the chief 
agent in making these caves their present dimensions. 
The accomplishment of this work down to the 120 meter 
point without a mishap of any kind is decidedly a mat- 
ter for congratulation, as it was a very dangerous piece 
of work on account of the loose character of the 
ground. It will continue to prove dangerous moreover 
until the filling is completed. 

Work has been for some time past going on at various 
points on the San Lucas level (this is about 230 meters 
from the surface) , the most important being the opening 
up of the San Miguel winze, situated about 90 meters 
south of the Jesus Maria shaft, to the dimensions of a 
three-compartment incline shaft on the dip of the vein. 
Stoping operations are being conducted at two different 
points, one on the north side 15 meters below the San 
Lucas level, and the other on the south side 35 meters 
below the same point, close to water level. The dimen- 
sions of the three compartments will be, two for hoisting 
4x5 feet, and the other 3x5 feet for ladder way. This 
shaft, timbered to the San Lucas level with hoist and 
pump installed, will dominate all development work be- 
low water level, and will undoubtedly open up a large 



San Lucas Level 175 



body of pay ore, as the average value of rock broken 
from both stopes is worth $20.00 per ton (£4), with 
an average width of 2 meters 50 cm. 

The drift north on the San Lucas level terminated 
at a point about 20 meters north from mouth of crosscut 
leading to the Jesus Maria shaft (this crosscut show- 
ing extensive old workings that are filled in), and as 
samples taken from face of drift show that it was prac- 
tically in waste, a crosscut was commenced to locate 
the ore body corresponding with the old workings in 
crosscut leading to shaft. Within 2 meters the old work- 
ings were in evidence, and the drift was commenced 
immediately on the hanging wall from the face of the 
old drift and is being driven obliquely toward the hang- 
ing wall across the line of vein, so as to cut the vein about 
5 meters further north, and determine how far north 
these old workings extend. A winze was also com- 
menced on the San Felipe level (which is about 20 me- 
ters above the San Lucas level) at a point north from 
face of the drift North San Lucas ; this winze and drift 
will eventually communicate, and as the winze is ap- 
parently in virgin ground, and the broken rock assays 
$22.00 gold to the ton, it will open up in a good body 
of pay ore. Various raises at points where pay rock is 
in evidence in pillars and fillings have been commenced, 
and where chutes will be installed to facilitate the ex- 
traction of ore to the shaft. 

The collar of the Villarino shaft has been re-timbered, 
also the landing stage at the San Lucas level, and it is 
now ready to handle all material and machinery for the 
new inchne shaft. 



176 Mexico's Treasure-HotLse 

The whole system of working is extremely well 
thought out and as well executed. Certainly the prop- 
erties of the Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines 
Company are hkely to suffer nothing from lack of ef- 
ficient and conscientious management, of which as a 
whole it would be difficult to speak too highly. 



Chapter XIII. 



Some Mines with a Brilliant Past and a Promising Future. — The 
San Cayetana. — A Remarkable Tunnel. — The Future Working 
and Its Probable Cost. — The Pabellon Mine^ a Once Famous 
Producer. — Thirteen Years' Production. — The Union of Con- 
stancia. — Another Big Tunnel. — Some Future Exploration 
Work. — The Tajo de Dolores Mine. — The Celebrated Tajo 
Vein. — Twenty Years' Production. — Refugio. — Bolanitos. — El 
Cubo. 

A MONG the many famous mines in the Guana- 
/\ juato Camp with a brilliant future assured un- 
^ Jk.der a vigorous and a modern system of hand- 
ling, may be mentioned the San Cayetana. Its history 
goes back to a period considerably exceeding eighty 
years, and since a complete — or at least a very full — set 
of the mines books still exist and are in a state of good 
preservation, the ambitious and industrious student 
could scarcely find a more promising field than this for 
his labors. 

During the past five or six years, several fractional 
claims have been denounced in the locality with the idea 
of consolidating and making one complete block of the 
property, which up till then had not been attempted, 
many small and insignificant interests being held in the 
scattered directions. A vast amount of good develop- 
ment work has been done on this ground during the past 
half a century including the construction of a remark- 
ably long tunnel measuring 3,035 meters, and which still 
remains in excellent condition, proving that the former 
owners, although slow in their methods, were usually 

Page 177 



178 Mexico's Treasure-House 

sure and did not skimp their work. This tunnel took 
nearly 19 years to complete. 

The San Cayetano Tunnel was commenced in Jime, 
1862. It has a total length of 3,140 meters, 10,299 
feet, exclusive of the branches, which have an additional 
length of 3,540, or a total of 6,680 metres, or 21,910 
feet. The tunnel has a grade of 1 in 120. The dimen- 
sions vary considerably from 8x8 feet to the size of a 
railway tunnel, viz., 12 x 18 feet. For the greater part 
of its length the tunnel is a drift following the San An- 
tonio vein. When first started it was only of smaU di- 
mensions and the boreholes were drilled by steel pointed 
iron rods, but when the subsequent developments dem- 
onstrated that its dimensions were not sufficiently 
wide, it was widened out for its whole length to the 
Buenos Ayres shaft. This is proved by the numerous 
steel-drilled boreholes, pointing towards the entrance. 
Under great difficulties, on account of the bad air, the 
first shaft (Buenos Ayres) located 500 meters from the 
entrance to the tunnel, was reached, and work was then 
proceeded with for a time and with but little difficulty. 
It had occupied almost ten years to proceed thus far ; and 
records show that two years later, namely, 1874, the tun- 
nel had reached a length of 800 meters (2,624 feet) . 

For some reason unknown, the tunnel was not made in 
a straight line in the first instance, probably on account 
of searching for a vein which at the time the borers failed 
to find, but which they discovered later in another direc- 
tion. Although the tunnel was bored in an accurate 
direction, there was a miscalculation in regard to the level 
which, when the two ends came together, was found to 
vary by some ten feet more or less. This was overcome 



Ten Years^ Prosperity 179 

by lowering the floor of the part which was too high, the 
gradient being only 1 in 120, or less than 1 per cent. 
But work was again seriously interfered with by the 
continuation of the bad air, and eventually a vertical 
masonry wall had to be constructed in the tunnel to split 
the air current and better ventilate the tunnel. This 
proved successful. 

It was on the 29th of July, 1876, that communication 
was first established, and the tunnel then had a total 
length of 1,300 meters (3,980 feet), of which 500 have 
been completed during the last two years. Fourteen 
years had elapsed since the work was commenced 
in 1862. Enormous difficulties had been encountered 
from the beginning and pluckily overcome. Great 
patience and pertinacity had been evinced upon the part 
of the management, and the shareholders had shown 
great confidence in the ultimate success of the enterprise 
by providing the necessary funds to carry on the work. 
Every encouragement, however, was afl*orded by the ex- 
cellent output from the San Cayetano mine, which 
was being worked from the San Cayetano shaft. 

While the tunnel was being constructed, and at a 
distance of some 1,500 meters from the entrance, a shoot 
of ore was encountered which, being pursued, led on to 
the famous San Cayetano ore shoot, which resulted in 
ten years' continuous output of valuable ore, aggregat- 
ing some three-quarters of a million sterling, which was 
distributed as dividends among the shareholders of the 
United Mexican Mining Company, Ltd. This was in 
the year 1881. 

A large sum of money was then expended upon ma- 
chinery, being paid for out of the huge profits from the 




Isi1° 





.--r 



180 Mexico's Treasure-House 

mine, and entirely apart from the amount distributed in 
dividends. Among the machinery ordered was a mag- 
nificent air compressor, which cost £18,000 delivered at 
the mine. This large piece of machinery is to-day at the 
Cubo mine but is not being used, the two mines (San 
Cayetano and Cubo) then belonging to the same com- 
pany. 

The elusive character of the ore shoots in Mexico, as 
in most mining countries, is proved by the fact that the 
ore shoot in the San Cayetano mine would have been 
completely missed had the tunnel happened to be driven 
at a level twenty feet higher than it was. This arose 
from no special scientific knowledge possessed by the 
engineers of that day, but from purely good fortune. 

The great value of the San Cayetano mine to-day 
consists in the enormous extent of undeveloped veins, of 
which there are six well defined, in addition to numerous 
others located, distributed over the area owned by the 
company, which exceeds 700 acres. These veins con- 
tain ore of high grade. 

It may be mentioned that while some £10,000 might 
be required to put the San Cayetano mine into a perfect 
working condition, the mine is perfectly clean, abso- 
lutely dry and in the best possible condition for exploi- 
tation. All the mine buildings and yard, as I can per- 
sonally testify, are in admirable condition, some of the 
most substantial and abiding work having been put in 
by the former proprietors. 

If I am asked for what reason the San Cayetano 
mine has been worked so little by the present company 
which owns it, and why it is desirous of selling it, my re- 
ply would be two-fold : firstly, the San Cayetano is the 



Necessary Developments 181 

last remaining property belonging to the United Mex- 
ican Mining Company, Limited, which has already dis- 
posed of all its former holdings and the shareholders 
of which are desirous of closing down their business 
and distributing their assets; and secondly, the whole 
of the profits having been somewhat imprudently and 
improvidently divided up during the halcyon days, with 
the result that no working capital was provided, there 
is to-day insufficient funds in hand to carry on the fur- 
ther development of the property. The fact must be 
borne in mind that the mine is still being worked profit- 
ably, but not nearly as profitably as would be the case 
were the system of development more expansive and 
more complete, which the introduction of abundant 
capital would permit of. 

Probably any further extension of this remarkable 
tunnel would be unnecessary until some further devel- 
opment in the mine itself had been carried out. It is 
considered that as a commencement there should be a 
drift run out under the Lourdes shoot from the Ano 
Nuevo crosscut; 100 meters more or less ought to reach 
the desired point, and encounter the extension down- 
ward of the ore shoot which is now being mined by the 
company near the surface. It would also be desirable 
to prospect the Emma vein by sinking and drifting upon 
it at some point not far removed from the northeast 
end of the San Julian tunnel. The Emma vein is per- 
haps the largest on the property, and is the one on 
which the least work has been done. A small shaft was 
sunk on it and a slight amount of mineral was produced ; 
but these workings are now caved-in and very little is 
known in regard to this vein beyond the fact that the 



182 Mexico's Treasure-House 

hill-side below the outcrop is almost covered with quartz, 
proceeding from the decomposition of the vein. 

The result of some recent sampling has shown that 
there are large amounts of fillings of a milling grade in 
the upper workings, known as San Antonio, running 
very high in gold. Besides this, and of far greater im- 
portance, is a large block of sohd ground containing 
pay ore, which has been found above the tunnel and in 
the Mexiamora ground. This ore extends upward as 
shown by raise, and it is declared by those who did the 
last work in the Mexiamora mine that the same character 
and quality of ore exist in the lower workings of that 
mine, proving a sohd block of ground of fully 300 feet 
in height and of an unknown length, which is very con- 
veniently located for mining. This Mexiamora mine 
produced as much as $11,000,000, but the bottom of the 
mine is still considerably above the tunnel level. This 
means a large amount of virgin ground between the bot- 
tom of the mine and the tunnel level, to say nothing of 
the possibilities of the ore shoot below the level. 

It is now very difficult to obtain properties in Guana- 
juato, since everything in the vicinity has been very 
carefully denounced and carried to title with the excep- 
tion of one strip lying along the northeast side of the 
property, and following the general line of the Puerte- 
cito River. This caused an inquiry into the reason for 
the ground not having been denounced, and it was found 
that it had been held for years by different parties, none 
of whom had ever done any work upon it by reason of its 
proximity to the river, and at last had allowed it to 
lapse. Latterly, however, this last remaining claim 
has been denounced under the name of La Blanca, and 




Plate 4.1.] 



The San Cayetaxo Mine. 

Property of United Mexican Mining Co., Limited. 

[See pages 183-190. 



The San Cayetano Production 188 

now has been added to the San Cayetano holdings. This 
is not alone a valuable mining claim, but as it extends 
across the River San Cayetano it aiFords a fine dam site 
and water rights for a mill for the property. One of the 
best-known veins in the vicinity, the Pabellon, runs 
through this ground from one end to the other, the sur- 
face outcrop being just as pronounced as in the Pabellon 
mine itself. 

The following particulars relating to 13 years' pro- 
duction from San Cayetano ore body may prove in- 
teresting : 

Aug. 



s- 






PER CARGA 


YEAR. 


CAROAS. 


RETURNS. 


(op 850 LBS.). 


1882 


1,348 


$ 24,059.00 


$17.84 


1883 


19,768 


298,691.96 


15.11 


1884 


37,352 


543,198.30 


14.54 


1885 


40,592 


537,251.13 


13.23 


1886 


36,751 


532,133.96 


14.48 


1887 


65,704 


632,634.29 




1888 


53,972 


473,923.00 




1889 




357,119.00 




1890 




257,888.00 




1891 




172,729.50 




1892 


22,551 


158,288.00 




1893 


6,957 


84,626.00 




1894 


3,302 


57,764.00 





9mos. 

$4,130,306.14 or, say, £413,030 

ORE MINED FROM SAN CAYETANO. 
Year 1884. 
cargas. value. cargas. value. 

January 3,S62 $37,788 July 3,991 $53,926 

February.... 2,817 30,798 August 2,445 37,582 

March 2,797 29,661 September ... 2,580 46,101 

April 2,650 50,026 October 3,655 46,281 

May 3,902 73,172 November ... 2,851 35,451 

June 3,134 51,776 December . . . 3,143 50,361 

37,327 $542,923 
37,327 Cargas=447,924 Arrobas=:5151.1 metric tons. 
542,923 

51511 =$105.4 Mex. per ton. 



184 Mexico's Treasure-House 



PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENTS. 

San Cayetano Mine. 
Year 1884. 

profit. loss. 

January $ 12,518 

February 13,170 

March 66,764 

April 16,839 

May 52,808 

June 168,559 

July $11,698 

August 21,746 

September 127,979 

October %\0% 

November 17,945 

December 110,119 

$608,947 $17,806 
Loss 17,806 

Profit $591,141 



THE PABELLON MINE. 

The Pabellon mine has been one of the famous pro- 
ducers of rich ore, the period of its greatest production 
being about the fifties. It is stated that the fear of en- 
countering water was the reason for the neglect of the 
vein in the ground spoken of as being open to denounce- 
ment. This fear may be entirely imaginary, however, as 
the ground in the vicinity of the vein is very light and 
solid, and may not permit the percolation of water ; at all 
events, even if all the water running in the little stream 
were to find its way into the vein, a very small pump 
would handle it effectively. 



La Union y Constancia 185 

LA UNION Y CONSTANCIA. 

La Union y Constancia mine is located about six 
kilometers from the City of Guanajuato, four kilome- 
ters of which are over a wagon road and the remainder 
over a trail, which can easily be made into a wagon road. 
The property consists of the following claims: — La 
Union, Fe de Constancia, and their Ampliaciones. 

The length of the principal vein, the development of 
which is contemplated, is 1,600 meters ; the depth on the 
dip of the vein is nearly 420 meters throughout the prop- 
erty, thus forming an explorable area of 672,000 square 
meters. The vein is the famous "Mother Lode of Guan- 
ajuato," running through the district for about 17 
kilometers, having a maximum width of 60 me- 
ters strike N. 45 degrees W. with an inclination or dip 
of 45 degrees W. from the horizontal. The rock on the 
southern extension of the vein, where it is the strongest 
and on which the La Union y Constancia is located, 
consists of the hanging wall composed of diorite or 
green rock, and the f ootwall a red conglomerate on the 
surface, which in depth is the same diorite that is en- 
countered in the hanging wall intermixed with car- 
bonaceous slate (ampelita). 

The vein filling is composed of seams of quartz, in its 
different forms, frequently intermixed with calcite and 
stringers of the same rock, that form the foot and hang- 
ing walls, the stratum being generally parallel to the 
dip of the vein. The principal minerals are argentif- 
erous sulphides and native gold and silver; traces of 
lead are few, and zinc has never been found. Along the 
vein, where the body of the same can be measured 60 



186 Mexico's Treasure-House 

meters in width, the country rock is intermingled with 
the vein, which sometimes divides it in three different 
parts, which are called the vein of the hanging wall, the 
centre, and the foot- wall veins ; but in the region of La 
Union y Constancia, these divisions are not so well de- 
fined. The three parts of the vein above mentioned 
form one body of from 10 to 14 meters in width. The 
reunion thus formed gives more probabihties for rich- 
ness. 

A great deal of exploration and exploitation work has 
been done on this property, with various results. The 
workings in Cata were deepened, explorations were 
made in lower levels than those of the Sirena mine (be- 
ing worked by the Guanajuato Consohdated Mining & 
Milling Company), and the Cedro mine was deep- 
ened to explore the present ore body in the Purisima 
mine. Additionally there is a tunnel about 800 meters 
in length, there being 800 meters yet to explore. Start- 
ing from the entrance to the tunnel, various crosscuts 
have been driven to cut the vein, encountering the same 
12 meters in width in these crosscuts; 150 meters from 
the face a vein was encountered 20 meters wide. A 
short distance north of the last crosscut a rich ore body 
was encountered, which is technically the continuance of 
the ore body which originated at the entrance to the mine 
(Boca Mina) on the top of the hill. 

Aside from the Veta Madre passing through the 
property in question. El Carmen vein and others of 
less importance pass through this ground; El Carmen 
vein, which derived its name from the mining property 
situated about 500 meters west of La Union y Con- 
stancia claim, was acquired by, and transferred to, The 



A Proposed Tunnel 187 

Guanajuato Consolidated Mining Company for the 
sum of $400,000.00. The altitude of the La Union y 
Constancia timnel is 2,000 meters above sea level, which 
altitude corresponds with the same levels in Valenciana, 
Tepayac, Cata, Mellado, Rayas, Promontorio, Sirena 
and Purisima del Cedro, where rich ore bodies were en- 
countered. La Union y Constancia being the mine in 
which the last rich ore body was found. Two workings 
indicate where profit can be made at once, one of these 
being the continuation of the tunnel and the other the 
sinking of a shaft from the tunnel level. 

It is estimated that to prosecute the work of the tun- 
nel for the remaining 800 meters on the vein and to 
reach the line, the cost per meter, including track and 
extraction, also the necessary timbering, will amount to 
$24,000.00; to this amount must be added the cost of 
driving the necessary crosscuts every 40 meters, with an 
average width of 15 meters each in length to ex- 
plore the vein on the foot wall and hanging wall. This 
estimate of $24,000.00 for driving the tunnel, crosscuts, 
and other work to secure ventilation, could be reduced 30 
per cent, by installing an air compressor and air drill 
using electric power. Aside from the exploitation of the 
mineral encountered in the tunnel level, one or more up- 
raises can be made in places where there are indications 
of mineralization, these explorations being valuable and 
made easy in connection with the tunnel work. 

The second work of interest that would have to be 
performed is the sinking of an inclined shaft from the 
tunnel level on the vein to a vertical depth of 220 me- 
ters, and a total length on the vein of 300 meters on an 
incline of 45 degrees, which is the inclination of the 



188 Mexico's Treasure-House 

vein. This inclined shaft has the advantage that it will 
not leave the vein, the inclination being regular; which 
has been proven in all the mines in the district. To in- 
vestigate the richness of the tunnel in the lower levels, 
a series of small crosscuts and small shafts should be 
made; probably, three small crosscuts at a distance of 
50 meters, vertical distance, or 70 meters on the vein, 
and the small shafts in these crosscuts at a convenient 
distance from the inchned shaft, to secure ventilation at 
all times. 

Considering the location of this property and espe- 
cially the topographical position of the tunnel, com- 
bined with the great advantages accruing from electrical 
power being available, La Union y Constancia, if in 
the hands of an enterprising and capable management, 
should prove a valuable producer. Up till now, litiga- 
tion has impeded any continuous development ; but this 
having been finally settled, work will shortly be vigor- 
ously resumed. This is the last remaining property on 
the Mother Lode, south of Valenciana, which has not 
been taken up by British or American capital, but it is 
practicaHy certain that before these lines are read La 
Union y Constancia will have been disposed of to a pur- 
chasing syndicate of either London or New York. 



THE TAJO DE DOLORES. 

The Tajo de Dolores mine is another property of 
v/hich the financial world is destined to hear a good deal 
in the future. The Tajo vein occui-s, and has been both 
recognized and exploited, at both sides of the Villalpan- 
do Gulch (Canada de Villalpando) through two tunnels 



The Tajo Vein 189 



in opposite directions. The West Tunnel opens the La 
Loca mine, and the East Tunnel the Tajo de Dolores 
mine. The direction of the tunnels and vein is approxi- 
mately east and west, with a dip of from 50 to Q5 de- 
grees to the south. Consequently, if the vein extends 
sufficiently towards the east, it must intersect the main 
Villalpando vein. Towards the west, at 200 meters 
from the mouth of the La Loca tunnel, the course of the 
vein comes to an end by splitting into various stringers. 
The vein crosses near the surface the strata of green 
sandstone, and in depth is enclosed in the argillaceous 
schist, which comes in below the green sandstone in the 
sides of the main Villalpando shaft, near the La Loca 
mine itself and in the El Capulin mine. This vein, in 
the La Loca workings, has produced argentiferous ores, 
with a predominating gangue material of compact 
quartz, usually white, with enclosures of fragments of 
wall-rock more or less silicified. The main productive 
minerals which hav6 been encountered with greater con- 
stancy are argentite, more or less selenif erous, in rich 
stringers, in fine disseminations or impregnations ; dark 
ruby silver, or pyrargyrite in layers or crystalline 
bunches; and compact polybasite, or disseminated in 
company with chalcopyrite. Pyrite in small quantity 
also occurs. 

In the Tajo de Dolores mine, the most important de- 
velopment is on the crossings of the Tajo vein with the 
cross veins of San Francisco and El Baul, with a strike 
of from 65 to 70 degrees west and a dip of 65 to 80 de- 
grees toward the southeast. In this region, besides 
the occurrence of argentiferous pay ores, the gold assay 
of the ores increases, as is the case in the whole Villal- 



190 Mexico's Treasure-House 

pando region at the intersection of the main with the 
cross veins. 

The Tajo vein itself shows the same composition as 
in the La Loca mine, with an abundance of compact 
quartz as the principal matrix. But the veins of the 
San Francisco and El Baul, at the junction, show red 
or oxidized ores with a matrix of more or less porous 
quartz and ferruginous clay pockets. Some small 
bunches of ore reached an assay value of 1,000 ounces 
of silver and 20 ounces of gold per ton (of 2,000 lbs.) . 

The Tajo de Dolores property covers a portion of 
what is known as the "Sierra System" of veins, on which 
are located also the Santa Rosa, San Nicholas, Pere- 
grina and Cubo groups of mines. The Cubo Venture 
properties are situated to the north and west; the Ro- 
mana (owned by the Governor of Guanajuato, Senor 
Don Joaquin Obregon Gonzalez and the Jefe Pohtico, 
Cecilio Estrada), to the southeast; to the southwest 
are several properties owned by various other individ- 
uals. These mines have lately been brought into prom- 
inence by the revival of work in the old mines of the 
Guanajuato District, and particularly, through the 
operations of the new Peregrina Mining and Milling 
Co. and the Cubo Venture, of which latter, Mr. Thomas 
H. Legget, the well-known South African mining en- 
gineer, is the principal party interested. The Cubo 
Venture joins the Tajo de Dolores on the northwest, 
and is worked to a depth of 700 feet below the lowest 
workings of the Tajo, and on the same vein. On the 
other side, southeast of the property, the veins continue 
into the Romano, which has also produced large quanti- 



An Interesting History 191 

ties of ore, and has been worked down to the same depth 
as the Tajo. 

The Dolores vein occupied a fault plane between 
the rhyolitic tuif on the hanging wall and the massive 
rhyolite on the foot wall. The San Joaquin vein is a 
fissure in the latter formation, which is a characteristic of 
the foot wall of the Sierra system of veins. The mine 
is in the Municipality of Villalpando, in the Guana- 
juato Mining District, at an altitude of about 7,500 
feet above sea level, and is connected with the City of 
Guanajuato by a good wagon road six miles in length. 

The property consists of 29.97 pertenencias, equal to 
about 73 acres. The Tajo has an interesting history. 
The mine was worked intermittently by the Spaniards 
up to the time of the Mexican War of Independence, the 
troubles of which caused its abandonment. Modern 
systematic work was undertaken by Eusebio Gonzales 
about 30 years ago, since which time three shafts have 
been sunk and all the work below the tunnel level car- 
ried out. There are no known existing records of the 
production of the mine prior to the time of Gonzales, but 
to judge by the extent of the old stopes and the value of 
the fillings, several miUion dollars' worth of ore must 
have been produced from the workings above the tun- 
nel level. During the ownership of the Gonzales family, 
the mine produced steadily right up to the final shut- 
down in 1902. All the records are still in the possession 
of the Gonzales family, who Uve in Celaya. 

The Tajo has been a famous producer of rich ore, 
however, and the reason for shutting it down was the 
fact that the water got to be more than could be handled 
with the small pump with which the mine was provided; 



192 Mexico's Treasure-House 

consequently the lower levels were abandoned in 1902, 
and the water was allowed to rise. The mine, neverthe- 
less, has given employment to nmnerous small gangs of 
lessees, who have been working in the upper part and re- 
turning a net royalty of $300.00 to $500.00 (£30 to 
£50) every week since the machinery stopped work. 

Froni the information that one is able to obtain, the 
mine never seems to have had so good a showing of ore 
as at the time it was shut down. When the work in the 
bottom was stopped, the management were underhand- 
stoping a streak more than 10 inches wide, which aver- 
aged $1,300.00, Mexican Cy. (£130), per ton. This 
rich streak was part of a vein seven feet wide, the rest of 
which ran $38.00 (£3/16) per ton. The mines of El 
Tajo and Peregrina were formerly owned by the Gon- 
zales family. 

An engineer who examined the Tajo in 1902, at a 
time when the water was entirely out of it, states that, 
in the lower level and in the San Joaquin vein, for a 
distance of over 100 meters, there was a rich sulphide 
streak, about a foot in width, running the entire distance 
without a break, and which would average 40 kgms. sil- 
ver per ton without sorting, and that, alongside of this 
rich streak, there was an additional width of vein of two 
or three meters, which would average nearly a kilogram 
of silver per ton. 

The two j)rincipal veins running through the prop- 
erty are those of Dolores and San Joaquin. The 
vein of Dolores extends 1,650 feet through the prop- 
erty with a dip of 60 degrees to the southwest. The 
San Joaquin vein runs north 70 degrees east, dipping 
southeast 70 degrees. The veins intersect each other 



Interior of Mine 193 



near the center of the property, and this intersection was 
the condition which decided the formation of the large 
and rich bodies of ore for which the mine has been 
famous. Several smaller veins intersect these principal 
veins at different points. An enormous stope exists 
above the San Eusebio level; below this level, the stope 
narrows up, but just at the water level it expands 
lengthwise of the vein, and an old plan and some other 
information show the productive portion of the San 
Joaquin vein to be much more extensive in the bottom of 
the mine than at any point above. The San Eusebio 
shaft, the deepest in the mine, is located on this vein; 
it is an interior shaft, the collar of which is at the tunnel 
level. This shaft serves the double purpose of extrac- 
tion of ore from the workings of the San Joaquin vein 
and the drainage of the entire mine ; the shaft section is 
two meters by five. The hoisting engines, as well as 
those for pumping, together with the boilers, were lo- 
cated in the interior of the mine at the collar of the shaft. 
This arrangement was found to be extremely disadvan- 
tageous to the workings of the mine, the smoke escaping 
through the stopes overhead, rendering that part of the 
mine absolutely inaccessible, besides which, the consump- 
tion of so much fuel in the interior of the mine raised the 
temperature throughout to a pitch that was most uncom- 
fortable. This shaft is still in very good condition, with 
the exception of a short distance near the collar, where 
the shaft passes through the vein and the soft condition 
of the ground has necessitated some timbering. Below 
the level of San Nicholas, the shaft enters the footwall, 
which is very hard rock, the lower part of the shaft, 
consequently, being quite firm. 



194 MeoDico's Treasure-House 



Whatever pumping machinery may be needed for the 
mine will have to be set up in this shaft, as it is the deep- 
est on the property, the water naturally draining to this 
point. These workings of the San Eusebio vein being 
the richest part of the mine, it would probably be found 
advisable to use this shaft also for hoisting, especially in 
view of the fact that communication exists between the 
San Eusebio shaft and the workings on the Dolores 
vein through the level of del Carmen. 

At the workings on the Dolores vein another immense 
stope exists above the tunnel level. This narrows, going 
downward in very much the same way as the shoot on the 
San Joaquin vein, and sufficient work has not yet been 
done, to prove whether it opens up again with depth. The 
deepest workings, however, show good values in the 
stopes below the Providencia level, and in another stope 
close to the Dolores shaft. 

There are two vertical shafts located on the Dolores- 
vein ; the Dolores shaft is sunk directly in the gulch, and 
passes through the vein into the f ootwall at the level of 
the Frente Jesus, the workings below this point being 
connected with the shaft by crosscuts. The condition 
of the Dolores shaft is excellent for hoisting, having a 
section of three meters square, which is sufficient capac- 
ity for a double bucket way. 

The Purisima shaft is of round section, about two me- 
ters in diameter, and could only be used for a single- 
drum hoist. This shaft is said to be only about 20 meters 
below the level of the water. The drifts along both 
veins, contrary to the usual Mexican fashion, are run on 
level, and some of them provided with cars and track. 
As far as can be judged by the condition of the work- 



Ore Assets 195 

ings above the water level, the mine should be in con- 
dition for immediate production as soon as the water 
is pumped out of it. The permanent water level is de- 
termined by the Cubo tunnel, at which level the water 
no'.y stands throughout the Tajo workings; this point 
is about 200 feet below the tunnel level. The lower 
30 feet of the workings are under water. 

The principal assets of ore are contained in the veins 
of San Joaquin and Dolores, consisting of low-grade 
portions of the veins, the fillings of the old stopes and 
the several dumps on the properties, which would not 
pay to work under former conditions of transportation 
and treatment, but which, under cyanide treatment, 
adopted at present for the low-grade ores of the Guana- 
juato District, would yield good profits. The larger 
bodies of available milling ore, above the level, which 
have been measured up and computed, are as follows : 

In block "A," on the Dolores vein, between the large 
stope and the water level, there are pieces of soHd 
ground that measure up 20,000 cu. meters, containing 
45,000 tons of ore with an average value of $7.00 per 
ton; total value contained in this block $315,000. 
Block "B," a triangular block above the tunnel level, 
on the San Joaquin vein, measures about 7,000 tons with 
an average of $7.00 per ton; total value, $49,000.00. 
Block "C," the large stopes on the San Joaquin vein 
with the pillars and fillings they contain, wherever ac- 
cessible, show values of about $9.00 per ton; roughly, 
calculated this stope contains 20,000 tons with a value 
of $8.00 per ton; total value, $160,000.00. Block "D," 
about 25,000 tons of dump rock, contained in four dif- 
ferent dumps, with a value of $168,000.00. 



196 Meooico's Treasure-House 

These give together a total as follows : 

BLOCK "A," 45,000 tons $315,000.00 

BLOCK "B/' 7,000 tons 49,000.00 

BLOCK "C," 20,000 tons 160,000.00 

BLOCK "D," 25,000 tons 168,000.00 



$692,000.00 

The expense of mining and getting this material to 
the proposed mill ought to be easily covered as follows : 

52,000 tons solid rock at 90c. per ton. . $46,800.00 

20,000 tons fillings at 50c. per ton 10,000.00 

25,000 tons dump rock at 25c. per ton. . 6,250.00 

97,000 tons milling at $1.60 per ton 155.200.00 

$218,250.00 

Net return, U. S. Cy 473,750.00 

I append a table showing the officially certified annual 
production of the Tajo de Dolores Mine for years 1882- 
1884 and 1887-1903, inclusive: 

1882 1,506.118 0.763.. 4.0 $55,966.72 $7,831.20 $63,797-92 

1883 2,406.848 0.905. .4.0 87,127.88 12,505.10 99,632.98 

1884 2,876.419 1.196.. 4.0 187,607.88 14,956.50 152,564.88 

1887 1,447.760 0.860.. 4.0 49,802.92 7,528.30 57,331.22 

1888 1,628.605 0.997.. 3.0 64,948.76 6,350.50 71,299-26 

1889 1,136.966 0.767.. 3.0 32,884.88 4,433.00 37,317.88 

1890 597-965 1.125.. 4.0 26,908.40 3,108.30 30,016.70 

1891 867-674 0.848. .4.0 29,431.48 4,511.00 33,242.48 

1892 1,208.131 0.836.. 3.0 40,399-88 4,711.00 45,111.08 

1893 1,349-813 1.599. .5.0 86,334.00 8,773.70 95,107.70 

1894 1,305.744 1.869.. 6.0 97,617.40 10,184.20 107,801.60 

1895 1,723.550 1.277.. 4.5 84,038.92 10,081.50 94,120.42 

1896 3,815.374 1.006.-3.5 153,530.64 17,358.90 170,889-54 

1897 3,427-144 0.971. .3.0 137,110.24 11,365.30 148,475.54 

1898 6,126.925 1.111. .4.0 272,280.52 31,859-10 304,139-62 

1899 4,397-558 1.029.-3.5 181,003.52 20,008.30 201,011.88 

1900 3,549,708 1.173.. 4.0 166,552.20 18,457-40 185,009-60 

1901 3,352.087 0.284. .3.0 131,938.12 13,072.80 145,010.92 

1902 3,311.551 1.003.. 4.0 132,859-40 17,219-80 150,079-20 

1903 1,226,887 1.446 . .3.5 70,963.12 5,582.20 76,545.32 
47,269-825 2,039,306.94 229,898.30 2,269,205.24 



The Refugio Mine 197 

It is necessary to add that the values of the preceding 
productions are based on silver at $40 per kilogram and 
gold at $1.30 per gram (Mexican Cy.). 



THE REFUGIO. 



The Refugio group of mines, situated on the famous 
La Luz vein comprises six different properties, at one 
time held by as many different proprietors. To-day they 
are comprised under one management, namely, the La 
Luz Mines Co. The total area of ground covered is a 
very considerable one and a very large amount of devel- 
opment work has been carried out. These mines have 
been worked for over a hundred years, the first Guana- 
juato mineral discoveries having been made on the La 
Luz vein. The Santa Clara, the San Vicente and the 
Refugio are new consolidated, and known as the Refu- 
gio ; the three shafts have been sunk to a depth of 800, 
750 and 1,000 feet respectively. These shafts are all 
connected with levels. The average value of the ores is 
$12 (say £2/8) per ton, and the mine has a prob- 
able value of several hundred thousand dollars from ores 
in sight and on the dumps, as well as fillings. The char- 
acter of the rock is quartz with sulphides of silver and 
gold, and is very easily treated, being typical cyanide 
ore. The same class of mill fully decribed by me in con- 
nection with the Peregrina mine would be admirably 
adapted for treating the Refugio ores. In fact this por- 
tion of the camp resembles very closely the ground occu- 
pied by the Peregrina, carrying a large proportion of 
free milling gold. It may be added that these three 
mines have in their day produced something like $50,- 



198 Mexico's Treasure-House 

000,000, at a time when silver ranked with gold in 
value. Under the new methods of treatment available, 
and with the spirited management now being displayed 
in the camp generally, it is certain that this group will 
again prove of great producing value, and take their 
position in the front rank of successful companies in the 
Guanajuato district. This much may be said, that the 
vein has been proven to exist and in good ore at a depth 
of 800 feet lower than the present workings, namely, 
1,000 feet in Refugio. 



THE BOLANITOS. 



The Bolanitos group of mines, the present property 
of Senor Jesus Andrade, is likely at no distant date to 
become the property of an English corporation, negotia- 
tions at the moment proceeding for their acquisition, but 
not being actually concluded at the time of this volume 
going to press. 

Like most, if not all, Guanajuato mines in the La Luz 
district, these mines are celebrated and have had a 
history of their own. This history brought down to pres- 
ent times is somewhat litigious in character, the outcome 
it would seem of too much money having been made and 
feelings of envy and jealousy having been excited. At 
least this is according to one of the versions in circula- 
tion, but naturally there are others. There seems to be 
no doubt that the returns secured over a period of five 
years amounted to $7,000,000 Mex. (say £700,000). 

The Bolanitos group comprises the following mines: 



The Bolanitos Mine 199 

La Soledad del Abasta Los Angeles, 

Vie jo, Santa Rita (Bolanitos), 

La Parfia, Santa Gertrudis, 

La Restauradora, San Evodio, 

La Esperanza, Santa Elena, 

La Caridad, La Perla, 

La Soledad de las Car- Los Reyes, 

reras, Thesalia, 

El Cuevo, La Cruz, El Golconda, El Carmen, 

Peru, Ophir. 
La Voluntad de Dios, 

These properties have a total superficial area of about 
323.27 pertenencias, say about 800 acres, a perfect net- 
work of veins permeating them. There is no question 
that there exists great widths of low-grade gold ore above 
the water level, the former working having been such as 
to leave a good deal of ore in the mine. Above the water 
level there are also pillars and fillings. The mine is at 
present 500 feet under water; it has been worked only 
to a depth of 700 feet, but the bottom has been left per- 
fectly good. Another important portion of the property 
is found in the Restauradora Tunnel, where, besides a 
net work of gold-bearing veins, there are three dipping 
east and one dipping west, which have given values of 
from 30 grams of gold up to 7 kilos of gold per ton, and 
which would form the basis of an extremely good mill- 
ing proposition in themselves. There are five vertical 
shafts, five tunnels and several inclines upon which are 
installed five English steam hoists of from 10 to 25 
horse-power, two crushers and dynamos for 100 lights, 
extensive houses and offices and tools of many kinds. 



200 Mexico's Treasure-House 

THE CUBO MINES. 

The Cubo group of mines is of considerable impor- 
tance and extent, and has a substantial record of pro- 
duction to its credit. It is one of the oldest properties 
worked at Guanajuato, and the books of the various 
mines composing the group form some interesting read- 
ing to the antiquarian and geologist, to say nothing of 
the man who would know something of what mining 
cost and yielded in the olden days. The ground contains 
some extremely rich veins, the principal mine (the Cubo 
Venture) having been worked down to a depth of 2,000 
feet. This property is on the Sierra vein system, and 
has a modern mill of some 15 stamps and a cyanide 
plant. It is understood that the Cubo property will 
shortly change hands, as it is under offer to some New 
York capitaHsts at present. 

Several important experiments have been tried upon 
the Cubo mine, such as the first cyaniding by the well- 
known MacArthur-Forest process, and although this did 
not turn out to be a success at first, it soon afterwards 
did so, and was finally adopted generally on the Guana- 
juato mines. The Cubo, like so many other properties, 
formerly belonged to the United Mexican Mining 
Company, Limited, and has all the makings of a sound 
and profitable enterprise under competent management. 



Chapter XIV. 



The Guanajuato Power and Electric Company. — ^What the Mines 
Owe to Electrical Energy. — Capitalists' Support. — The Area 
of Distribution. — Pipe-lines 3^300 Feet Long. — Generating 
Station. — The Turbine Wheel versus Impulse Wheel. — Power 
House. — Generating Station. — Transmission Line. — Irapuato 
Substation. — Guanajuato Substation. — Electrical Equipment. — 
A Growing Demand for Power. 

IN considering the conditions that have produced 
a new era in mining methods in Guanajuato, it 
is essential to give due credit to the introduction 
of electric power in abundant quantities; in fact, the 
introduction of electrical power may be considered as 
having caused, to a greater extent than any other factor, 
the present era of prosperity. 

Some foiu* years ago, when the question of bringing 
power into Guanajuato was first considered, there were 
but sixty stamps operating in the district ; to-day, mills 
are in operation, or in process of construction, with a 
total of 580 stamps, and many more large mills are in 
contemplation. The promoters of the Guanajuato 
Power and Electric Co. had evidently great faith in the 
future of Guanajuato; but before it was decided to 
build the power plant, a careful study was made of the 
conditions prevailing in the camp, and it was believed 
that even the old dumps of most of the mines could be 
milled and made to pay a fair return on the investment. 
However, it was impossible to tell to what extent ore 
would be found below the old workings, but it seemed 

Page 201 



202 Mexico's Treasure-House 

reasonable to suppose that a camp which had given such 
great returns for three centuries under the old methods 
of mining and milling would, when new methods were 
adopted, again become a great producer. The first requi- 
site in the introduction of modern mining methods 
was, however, cheap and reliable power; and after the 
conditions were thoroughly understood, capitalists were 
induced to subscribe the necessary money to build a 
power plant for Guanajuato, in the belief that other 
capitalists would take over the principal mines and make 
them great producers. 

It was decided to bring power to Guanajuato before 
a water power was found, and it was fortunate that the 
man who first conceived the idea of bringing that power 
to Guanajuato was one conversant with the best electri- 
cal transmission practice, otherwise its consummation 
might have been delayed for many years, for no suitable 
water power was found within 100 miles of Guanajuato, 
a distance which to most engineers would have seemed 
wholly impracticable under the conditions then existing. 

The Guanajuato Power & Electric Co. has a water 
power upon the Duero River, near the City of Zamora, 
and transmits power 101 miles on a steel tower transmis- 
sion line into the City of Guanajuato. It also has a sub- 
station at the town of Irapuato, controlling a secondary 
distribution system which is operated at 15,000 volts. In 
Guanajuato the distributing system is at the potential 
of 15,000 volts, and power is carried at this pressure as 
far as the town of Leon, lying some 30 miles northwest 
of Guanajuato. Besides this, there is a distributing 
system of 15,000 volts starting west from the gener- 
ating station, feeding a district along the shores of Lake 



The Hydraulic Work 203 

Chapala as far as the town of Ocotlan, 40 miles distant 
from the generating station. The company is distribut- 
ing power, at the present time, over 103 miles of steel- 
tower transmission Hnes, at a potential of 60,000 volts, 
and over 100 miles of pole-lines at the potential of 
15,000 volts. It also has in contemplation the erection 
of additional lines to reach other important cities and 
mining districts. With the exception of some unim- 
portant branch lines, in connection with which it was 
questionable whether the use of power would be contin- 
uous and would therefore warrant the best construction, 
all the distributing lines of the Power Company were 
made in the most thorough and substantial manner. 

The company operates under a concession granted by 
the Federal Government of Mexico, giving it the right 
to use 8 cubic meters, or 283 cubic feet, of water per 
second from the Duero River, near the City of Zamora, 
as already mentioned. By the construction of four 
miles of canal, a fall of 100 meters, or approximately 
330 feet, is secured. The canal is for the most part dug 
out of volcanic rock, and the head-gate, penstock, aque- 
ducts, etc., are constructed of heavy masonry. A novel 
feature in the hydraulic work is a terminal reservoir, 
which was constructed at a considerable cost to get a 
sufficient amount of storage for regulating the fluctua- 
tions in the power load during different periods of the 
day. 

Water is taken from the penstock to the power-house 
by means of two pipe-lines 3,300 feet long, varying in 
diameter from 57 to 69 inches. A pipe-line was con- 
structed when the plant was first put in, and was made 
throughout of steel varying from 5/16 to % of an inch 



204 Mexico's Treasure-House 

in thickness, depending upon the amount of the water 
pressure. At the present time the second pipe-line is 
being erected, but in this wooden stave-pipe will be used 
for the first 1,500 feet, or up to a head of approximately 
150 feet; from that point down to the power-house 
steel-pipe will be used, in conformity with the first pipe- 
line, but of somewhat different design. This new steel- 
pipe is lap-welded, so there will be rivets only at the 
junction of two pipes, and the ends are made "male" 
and "female" so that the lower end of one pipe fits ac- 
curately inside of the upper end of the one following. 
Large gate- valves have been put in each pipe-line just 
before they enter the power-house, and there is also a 
crossover between the two pipe-lines containing a gate- 
valve, so that it is possible to run all the units from either 
of the two pipe-lines. 

The generating station was designed for 4 generating 
units of 1,500 Kw., direct connected to Pelton water- 
wheels at 200 R. P. M. and the installation first comple- 
ted consisted of two of these units. At the present time, 
however, a 3,000 Kw. unit is being installed, driven 
from a turbine water-wheel built in accordance with the 
Escher- Weiss patents. The first generating units in- 
stalled were designed with but two bearings, two Pelton 
water-wheels being overhung from the ends of the gen- 
erating shafts, instead of being built with separate bear- 
ings and frames and connected by means of couplings. 
The Pelton water-wheels are equipped with deflecting 
hoods and needle nozzles. The deflecting hoods are 
operated by Lombard governors, and the needle nozzles 
by hand. The speed regulation is therefore obtained 
by varying the positions of the deflecting hoods, and 




"A 
O 

o 



Turbine Generating Equipment 205 

hand regulation from the needle ndzzles is only resorted 
to in order to increase or decrease the size of the stream. 

At the time that the generating plant was designed, 
it was generally conceded that turbine water-wheels 
would not give satisfaction when operated under a 
pressure of 140 pounds per square inch; but since that 
time there has been great advancement in the design 
of turbine water-wheels, and as there are distinct advan- 
tages in the turbine wheel over the impulse wheel, it was 
decided to change the original plan and to put in a tur- 
bine generating equipment of the capacity of the two 
present generating units. 

The power-house is 200 feet long and 32 feet wide, 
built of solid masonry and with a steel roof. At one end 
are located the high tension transformers, and through 
the main body of the house are the various generating 
units, with their water-wheel governors and various 
valves. Two cranes of 10 tons each run the entire length 
of the building, so as to facilitate the making of repairs. 
The switchboard is directly in front of the generating 
room, in a small extension of the building, and the oper- 
ator at the switchboard is, therefore, situated where he 
can observe the operation of all the machinery. A rather 
curious feature in connection with the power-house is the 
level of the floor, which is considerably lower than the 
level of the outside ground, a tailrace 500 feet long and 
approximately 20 feet deep being excavated to carry 
away the water discharged. It is, therefore, exceedingly 
difficult to publish any picture of the power-house which 
would give readers any idea of its true proportions, as 
I should have liked to have done. 

The generating units are three-phase, 7,200 alterna- 



206 Mexico's Treasure-House 

tions of 2,300 volts. The machines running from the Pel- 
ton water-wheels operate at 200 revolutions, and those to 
be driven from the turbine at 514 revolutions. A switch- 
board of blue Vermont marble is used for controlling 
the generating units and the feeders to the step-up 
transformers, and no switching is done upon the 60,000 
volt lines when carrying power. The generating sta- 
tion has now been running some two and one-half years 
and no difficulty whatever has developed in the operation 
of the machinery and transformers. 

The transmission line between the generating station 
and Guanajuato is constructed on steel towers made by 
the Aeromotor Co. of Chicago, placed 440 feet apart, 
supporting three copper cables of a carrying capacity 
equal to No. 1 Brown & Sharp solid conductor. The 
insulators were built by the Locke Manufacturing Co., 
and were considered the best on the market at the time 
that the transmission line was designed. This line was 
the first which was ever built with steel towers and long 
spans, and was undoubtedly a great advancement in 
transmission line construction. This same construction 
will be used for other high potential transmission Hnes 
now in contemplation by the Guanajuato Power and 
Electric Company. The transmission line has very few 
horizontal angles, and there are stretches as long as 25 
miles with practically no horizontal or vertical angles. 

The Irapuato substation is equipped with 600 kilo- 
watts transformer capacity, and it is expected that this 
will be increased to 2,000 kilowatts within a short time, in 
order to supply power for the City of Celaya and other 
districts which will be fed from a 50 mile 33,000 volt 
distributing line, to be erected upon iron poles. Around 



Electrical Equipment 207 

the town of Irapuato, power is supplied for agriculture 
and manufacturing purposes. A good portion of the 
power is used for pumping water from wells for the ir- 
rigation of strawberries, the growing of which is an in- 
dustry for which Irapuato is justly famous. 

In Guanajuato the company owns some extremely 
attractive grounds situated at the upper end of the 
city, where the substation and residence buildings are 
also located. The substation contains besides the elec- 
trical equipment, a shop and testing room, as well as the 
main Mexican offices of the company. 

The electrical equipment consists of eight 970 kilo- 
watt transformers, reducing the pressure from 60,000 to 
15,000 volts, together with the necessary switchboards 
and switching devices, and everything is built in the 
most thorough and substantial manner. From the sub- 
station, eight distributing circuits are carried out upon 
five different pole-lines for supplying power to the var- 
ious sections of the mining camp and the town of Leon. 
In all, there are some 60 miles of 15,000 volt-distributing 
circuits fed from the Guanajuato substation, and other 
lines of importance are projected for supplying addi- 
tional new districts. Transformer houses are located at 
the various mines for reducing the voltage from 15,000 
to 460, the potential generally used by the mining com- 
panies. The distributing lines, as first constructed, were 
erected upon wooden poles ; but these are now to be re- 
placed by iron poles, where the load has become impor- 
tant, and in time the whole system will be changed from 
wooden to iron construction. 

The Guanajuato Power and Electric Co.'s power-load 
has developed from below 1,000 horse-power to more 



208 Mexico's Treasure-House 

than 4,000 horse-power, and the contracts now in sight 
will still further increase the demand for power. In view 
of the probability that the water-power already devel- 
oped will prove inadequate for the future needs of Gua- 
najuato and other places, the company is taking steps 
to develop other water powers in the near future. It is 
also making various improvements in its distributing 
circuits and transmission lines so as to meet all future 
needs of its customers and guarantee to them the best of 
service. 

The effect upon the Guanajuato mining camp of the 
building of such an important power plant cannot be 
overestimated, for the company has reduced by at least 
one-half the cost of power, at the same time furnishing 
power to its customers, and moreover power that can be 
readily applied in many cases where the direct applica- 
tion for steam power would be impossible. The credit 
for such an important enterprise is due principally to 
Messrs. Hine and Curtis, who originally conceived and 
promoted the enterprise, and scarcely any less to Mr. G. 
W. McElhiney, of Guanajuato, who co-operated with 
them and conducted the Mexican end of the promo- 
tion. Credit should also be given to the strong body 
of capitalists who pluckily came forward with a million 
dollars (£200,000) for the purposes of the construction 
of the power plant. 

The preliminary engineering and reports upon the 
water power and power field were made by Messrs. Rob- 
ert McF. Doble, of San Francisco; Mr. H. H. Filley, of 
Kansas City, and Mr. Chas. T. Main, of Boston. Mr. 
Doble acted as consulting engineer, and Mr. Filley as 
chief engineer during construction. Mr. Filley took 



The Companies and the Power 209 

direct charge of the construction of the hydraulic work 
and generating station, and Mr. Norman Rowe had 
charge of the construction in the Guanajuato Camp, and 
is now General Superintendent in charge of operation 
and the commercial business in Mexico. 

It is stated that the path of the Guanajuato Power " 
and Electric Company was not always as smooth and as 
prosperous as is the case to-day. It was extremely diffi- 
cult to convince some of the companies working that 
electric power was possible, or, being possible, that it 
could be applied economically and reliably to the mines' 
machinery. One far-seeing individual, a native, went 
so far as to ostentatiously order and erect a new steam- 
hoist at the very time that the electric companies' 
cables were being brought into Guanajuato. That fool- 
ish and misguided man has hved to repent his temerity, 
and has now learned that "ignorance never settles a 
question." To-day that steam-hoist is for sale as old- 
iron I 

But, although eventually nearly all the mining com- 
panies and private owners signed contracts for the new 
motive power, only one out of the whole lot was actually 
ready to connect up when it arrived. The electric cur- 
rent was waiting for nearly a twelvemonth to turn the 
machinery, some of which was still on the road. 

But things are very diiFerent to-day, and there is no 
better supplied nor any better-lighted town than that of 
Guanajuato, which scintillates at dark, and, from a 
height, looks hke a beautiful golden glowworm twink- 
ling and sparkling in the soft darkness of the night. 
Disappointing as they may have found their reform ef- 
forts at first, the plucky pioneers and sponsors of the 



210 Mexico's Treasure-House 

Guanajuato Power and Electric Company can point 
with pride and satisfaction to the latter-day prosperity 
with which they have met. But cause for congratula- 
tion rests with the mining companies especially, since 
their former failures have been turned to successes and 
their disappointments to brilliant realizations. 



Chapter XV. 



British Capital in Guanajuato Mines and Mexico Generally. — Two 
Great Concerns, one Dead and the other Dying. — Some Defec- 
tive Management of By-gone Times. — ^Ward's Criticisms of 
Companies in his Days. — The Anglo-Mexican Company and 
The United Mexican Company. — Some Historic Mines and 
What has Become of Them. — Extravagant Management but 
Huge Profits. — The Question of Titles. — Mines Selection 
Company of Mexico. 

FROM a Britisher's point of view it is somewhat 
mortifying to read of the former importance 
which British enterprises possessed in Mexico, 
especially with regard to mining, compared with their 
position to-day. Whereas probably the smn of £80,000,- 
000 would represent the whole of the capital invested in 
this country by Great Britain at this time, as far back 
as 1827, and even earlier, mining alone undertaken by 
British investors exceeded in value £5,000,000. Con- 
sidering the almost overwhelming difficulties which en- 
terprises of this character had to encounter in those 
days, when there were no railways or decent wagon 
roads by which machinery could be transported to the 
mines, and when every pound of such material had to be 
carried on mule-back, it is surprising to find that the in- 
dustry advanced as far as it did. 

The two greatest British concerns had their offices in 
Guanajuato, — ^the Anglo-Mexican Company and the 
United Mexican Company. 

No doubt in those days money was lost almost as 
rapidly as it was invested, owing to the ignorance which 

Page 211 



212 Mexico's Treasure-House 

prevailed in regard to the mining conditions of the 
country, and the incompetent persons who were sent out 
to take charge of the mines. History repeats itself in 
no particular more remarkably than that of mining, and 
what happened in Mexico in those early days has been 
experienced in South Africa, New Zealand and West- 
ern Australia since. Not only were men who knew ab- 
solutely nothing about mining sent out to take charge 
(being probably relatives of some of the Directors who 
had to be found jobs somewhere and somehow), but 
gross exaggeration was indulged in as to the real value 
of the mines themselves. A very different condition of 
things exists to-day both in regard to management, di- 
rect representation and accurate reports upon the values 
of properties, and all immensely for the better. 

Although I say it with regret, and am in no way 
lacking in respect for the individual in question, there 
can be no doubt at all that Baron von Humboldt was 
(perhaps unwittingly) responsible for most of the false 
impressions which were created in Europe as to the 
Mexican mines and their working. No allowances were 
made for the serious drawbacks to which I refer, in- 
cluding the difficulty of transportation, the lack of ef- 
ficient native labor and the general disturbance of the 
country. So ignorant were those who invested their 
money in mining in Mexico in the early days that they 
actually believed that everything existed to hand except 
water, and that this was to be obtained by the latest kind 
of British mining machinery! But Von Humboldt's re- 
clame had its effect, a stream of immigrants from all 
parts of Europe arriving, especially from England, — 
Cornwall being drained of half its population, — ^men 



Ward's Strong Criticism 213 

who were miners and men who were not and never would 
be "miners" — proceeding to the new El Dorado, only, 
of course, to be disappointed and disillusionized when 
they got there. 

Ward, in his work on Mexico, states that in the year 
1825, the Anglo-Mexican Company alone "expended 
nearly £30,000 in salaries to men, most of whom were 
shortly afterwards dismissed," and fully £100,000 in 
machinery, including duties and carriage from the 
coast, "not one-twentieth part of which was ever made 
use of." This same authority apparently encountered 
in his day a very similar class of men to those whom I 
and others have met with at several mining centers 
abroad, and notably in our own colonies, for he says : — 
"English of the lower orders appear to undergo a change 
when they leave their own country, which renders them 
the most inefficient of human beings, — indolence, obsti- 
nacy and insolence take but too soon the place of those 
qualities by which our working classes are distinguished 
at home, and as their prejudices are not less strong than 
those which they have encountered on the part of the na- 
tives, the result in all cases, where mutual assistance is re- 
quired, cannot be favorable." 

Proceeding, he declares that " the rage for taking up 
mining contracts was such in 1825 that many adven- 
turers who presented themselves in London for that pur- 
pose disposed of mines, the value of which was, to say 
the least, very questionable, to companies who bought 
them without making any inquiries"; large sums of 
money were paid down "for mere pits, which, upon in- 
vestigation, it was found impossible to work." 

With such an example before us to-day, it should be 



214 Mexico's Treasure-House 

a comparatively easy matter to avoid making any similar 
mistakes in future, nor, indeed, is it at all probable that 
future investors in Mexican mines will go far wrong in 
their selection provided that they will avail themselves of 
the abundant opportunities that exist for making proper 
inquiries from responsible people on the spot. 

Among the oldest mining companies formerly work- 
ing in Mexico and having large holdings in Guanajuato, 
were the said Anglo-Mexican Company and United 
Mexican Company. Both were heavily capitalized, the 
former having £1,000,000 and the latter £1,200,000. 
The Anglo-Mexican Company had holdings in Guana- 
juato, Mexico, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi and other 
States ; while the United Mexican Company possessed 
huge interests in the States of Guanajuato, Guadala- 
jara, Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Oaxaca and Mexico. 

In Guanajuato the Anglo-Mexican Company owned 
or leased the following mines: The Valenciana, The 
Mellado, The Tepayac, The Sirena, The Villalpando, 
and several mines on the Veta Madre and smaller veins. 

Of all these properties none remain to-day in the pos- 
session of the company, which, however, is still living — 
but is almost defunct; and in fact it will probably go out 
of business entirely as soon as one remaining mine, the 
San Cayetano, of which it still holds possession, is dis- 
posed of. 

The United Mexican Company leased the Rayas mine 
from the Marquis de Rayas, whose ancestor had been 
ennobled on account of the generous donations which he 
made from his mine to the King of Spain and to the 
Roman Catholic Church. The Rayas is credited with 
having been the first silver mine discovered in the Guan- 




Plate 4-f).] 



The Guanajuato Power and Electric Co. 

Interior of sub-station at Guanajuato. 



[See page -211. 



Dispersal of Properties 215 

ajuato district, and was worked for many years by the 
Ray as family with wonderful results. The same com- 
pany, at this time, possessed the Jesus Maria mine at La 
Luz (now the property of the Guanajuato Amalgama- 
ted Gold Mines Co.) , El Cubo, La Cata and others. As 
has been shown, one by one these properties were parted 
with, the San Cayetano being the only remaining one in 
the hands of the company. The original shareholders 
have long since passed away, and the present ones, it is 
understood, are anxious to wind up the affairs of the 
company permanently and let it retire from business. 
The San Cayetano has been the property of the com- 
pany since the year 1868, and has been celebrated on ac- 
count of its remarkable tunnel, 3,036 meters long, which 
it paid for in two years' profits from the mine. The Va- 
lenciana is now the property of the Reduction and Mines 
Co. of Guanajuato, as are the Mellado and the Te- 
payac. 

The Sirena is the property of the Guanajuato Consol- 
idated Mining and MilHng Company, the Villalpando 
(now incorporated in the Cubo group) is the property 
of some New York capitalists, and may shortly be sold 
to an English syndicate or an American company, and 
thus the story continues. 

The mines controlled by the United Mexican Com- 
pany in Guanajuato comprised the Rayas, the Secho, 
the Cata, the Calera, the San Roquito, the San Rafael, 
La America and the Guadalupe. Here, again, most of 
these properties have passed into other hands, and the 
parent company itself has faded out of existence. The 
various holdings which it had in other States of Mexico, 
some of which have become famous, do not concern the 



216 Mexico's Treasure-House 

pages of this publication, which proposes to deal exclu- 
sively with the mines of Guanajuato and their particular 
history. 

It is fortunate that there are still in existence to-day 
copies of the original prospectuses issued in 1824 and 
1825 of these two British companies doing business in 
Mexican mining. A most remarkable feature of these 
musty documents is that many of the names therein 
mentioned are still known, and known honorably, in 
the City of London and Mexico to-day, although the 
original owners have long since passed away from this 
world of tribulation and disappointments. 

The Anglo-Mexican Company, which was the pioneer 
enterprise for working the Mexican mines upon a 
systematic and efficient scale, points out in its prospec- 
tus that it was "an association for assisting in working 
the mines of Mexico and other parts of Spanish Amer- 
ica." By the prospectus it appears that it "was formed 
for the purpose of supplying capital for putting in 
activity some of the principal and most productive mines 
in Mexico." That "the working of these mines had been 
suspended during the Revolution on account of the 
disturbed state of the country. That the principal part 
of them were, in consequence, nearly filled with water, 
and that the proprietors, through the deprivation of their 
income, were without the means of restoring the mines 
to their productive state." That "contracts had been 
entered into with the proprietors of mines for working 
them on terms of mutual advantage, consisting, in some 
cases, of a right to a share of the product of the mine for 
a term of years ; and, in other instances, of the cession of 
part of the proprietorship." 



The Anglo-Meocican Company 217 

The prospectus continues with much precision and 
persuasion to point out that "it was expected, from the 
negotiations then in progress, that other contracts would 
be hereafter offered to the association in Mexico and 
other parts of Spanish America, but that the association 
was to confine itself only to those mines which were 
opened, the value of which was ascertained by authentic 
documents, and the working of which had been suspend- 
ed only by temporary difficulties. The association was 
not, therefore, to embark in the speculation of opening 
new mines." It appeared that six mines were already en- 
gaged by the association. "The necessary machinery 
was immediately to be prepared and forwarded to Mex- 
ico in performance of their contracts." The capital of this 
company was £1,000,000, divided into 10,000 shares of 
£100 each. The following individuals were the directors 
and auditors : — 

Directors. 

Mr. Matthias Attwood, M. P., Mr. J. D. Powles, 

Mr. J. H. Anderdon, Mr. R. M. Raikes, 

Mr. David Bevan, Mr. Benjamin Shaw, 

Mr. David Barclay, Mr. W. Thompson, M. P. and 

Mr. Charles Herring, Alderman, 

Mr. George Lyall, Mr. William Ward. 

Mr. Stewart Marjoribanks, 

Auditors. 

Mr. William Fry, Mr. Thomas Richardson. 

The belief avowed in the prospectus of the Anglo- 
Mexican Association or "Company," as it was variously 
called at different periods of its career, was, "that by the 
introduction of English capital, skill, experience, and 
machinery, the expenses of working these mines might 
be greatly reduced, and their produce much aug- 



218 Mexico's Treasure-House 

mented"; and it was stated that the proprietors of one 
of the mines, viz., the Valenciana, calculated that they 
would be able to provide for the repayment of the ad- 
vances to be made for working that mine within two 
years from the commencement of that working, and also 
to make a division of profits. This association was 
formed in the month of January, 1824. On February 
26, 1825, a meeting of the proprietors of the Anglo- 
Mexican Association was held, and a report of its pro- 
ceedings was then submitted. By this report it appeared 
that the commissioners on behalf of the association 
reached Mexico in the middle of the month of August, 
1824, and, on November 15 following, transmitted to 
the directors in England information that the following 
mines were either being worked or in a state of prepara- 
tion for working: — 

Guanajuato Vein. 
Mines: Valenciana, Sirena, Santa Rosa, Guadalupe. 

Catorce Vein. 
Mines: Concepcion, Guadalupe. 

Of these mines, the two principal were then the Va- 
lenciana and Concepcion. The first was, of course, the 
most celebrated in Mexico. It had even at that time 
been worked sixty years. Its average annual net prod- 
uct, from 1792 to 1802, was not less than £150,000 per 
annum, and although during those years, by its injudi- 
cious management, the expenses of its working were 
doubled, the supply of ore was, nevertheless, so consider- 
able that the net profit remained the same. 

In relation to the United Mexican Mining Associa- 
tion, which appeared very shortly after the Anglo-Mexi- 



Some Notable Individuals 219 

can, it would seem from a prospectus of this company, 
"that, owing to the want of capital, it has been custom- 
ary for proprietors of mines in Mexico to form engage- 
ments with capitahsts, by virtue of which the capitalist 
undertakes to work the mine upon terms of expected ad- 
vantage to both parties." That the association "was 
formed for the same purpose: and it appears that the 
objects of this association were to be obtained by the 
combination of European skill and capital with Mexi- 
can interests. For this purpose Don Lucas Alaman, 
late representative in the Spanish Cortes for Guana- 
juato, had been associated with the company, and was to 
be appointed the president of the Mexican board of 
management ; but it had not been deemed expedient to 
enter into actual contracts for working mines until an 
association had been formed and the extent of its capital 
ascertained. In case the plan for forming an association 
was successful, and mines were obtained, a dividend was 
promised as soon as a profit of 5 per cent, was realized." 
The capital of the association was to be £240,000 and 
divided into six thousand shares of £40 each. This was 
afterwards increased to the sum of £1,200,000. The 
following individuals appeared on the prospectus as the 
intended directors and auditors: 

London Directors. 

Mr. John Biddulph, Mr. Thomas Masterman, 

Mr. Samuel Bosanquet, Mr. Frederick J. Pigou, 

Mr. John Easthope, Mr. Jacob Rieardo, 

Mr. Charles David Gordon, Mr. Richard Sanderson, 

Mr. James Hey gate, jun., Mr. Rowland Stephenson, 

Mr. John HuUett, Mr. Charles Widder. 

Auditors. 

Mr. Thomas Borradaile, Mr. Joseph Harris. 

Mexican Board of Management. 

President, Don Lucas Alaman ; 

arid two Managers, to be appointed by the Court of Directors. 



220 Mexico's Treasure-House 

An association was eventually formed. On March 1, 
1825, a meeting of the proprietors of this company was 
called, when they were informed that the mines of Ray as, 
Cata, La Bomba de Copula, Santa Ana, San Juan, and 
San Miguel, situate in the Guanajuato district, had been 
engaged for the purposes of the company, but that a de- 
tailed report of the proceedings and progress of the as- 
sociation was daily expected from the president of the 
Mexican board of management, and therefore it was 
deemed expedient not to enter into a minute account at 
the present meeting. The above mentioned increase of 
the capital of the association was agreed upon, and, 
finally, 18,000 new shares, of £4iO each, were issued, fol- 
lowed by another of £240,000 later on; each holder of a 
former share having the liberty to take three of the new 
shares of the company. 

It was in about the year 1824 that the Anglo-Mexi- 
can Company, Ltd., was formed in London, and A. M. 
WiUiamson was the managing director. When this 
concern tqok over the properties of the Valenciana, the 
Mellado, the Tepayac, the Sirena, and the ViQalpando, 
they were in a state of almost complete ruin. One year 
afterwards the broken machinery had been entirely re- 
placed, the Villalpando and Sirena had been nearly 
drained of their water, and the Valenciana was produc- 
ing about 10,000 tons of rich ore weekly. The manager 
of that day was a brilliant one evidently, for, in a few 
months' time from taking over possession, he had built 
no fewer than nine haciendas de beneficio (amalgama- 
tion works) and had erected and equipped a number of 
crushing mills. As many as 3,100 mules were employed 
at one time on the drainage works, while another 400 



Heavy Cost of Working 221 

were doing duty in carrying ores from the mine. The 
weekly wage-bill of the Valenciana alone, which was 
then and for many years afterwards the principal mider- 
taking of the company, amounted to the sum of £1,200 ; 
while, up to the date of September, 1826, about 18 
months after the company took over this mine among 
the others mentioned, the expenses totalled up to £134,- 
452. It is clear that in those far-off days no money was 
spared in the way of development, and in some instances 
— especially that of the Valenciana — the outlay was 
abundantly rewarded. 

Before the Anglo-Mexican Company came into pos- 
session, and just when the Valenciana had reached the 
profitable stage, the Mexican Revolution broke out with 
great fury, putting a temporary stop to all work. At 
that exciting period the mine was actually putting out 
ore to the value of £289,213 per annum; so that the 
Anglo-Mexican Company knew what they were doing 
when they purchased the mine in 1825 for a compara- 
tively modest amount of ready cash. 

The weekly expenditure of the United Mexican Com- 
pany, Ltd., was another big item in mine management 
at Guanajuato in the early days of British industry 
there. The directors of this company were Mr. Glen- 
nie, Mr. Lucas Alaman and Mr. Agassiz. Speaking of 
his first visit to Guanajuato, however, Mr. Ward says 
that he was particularly struck with the fact that, in spite 
of all that the British companies had done and all the 
money which had been expended there — amounting to 
more than had been expended upon any other single 
spot in the Republic — "this was nothing in comparison 
with what must formerly have been done," that is to say 



222 Mexico's Treasure-House 

anterior to the Revolution. The United Mexican Com- 
pany spent £100,000 on the Rayas mine in a few 
months' time; and ahnost similar sums were expended 
upon the La Vet a Negra, at Sombrerete, and upon 
other mines owned by the same company in Zacatecas. 

So extravagant was the management of the United 
Mexican Company in the early days of its career that 
the shareholders at home vigorously objected, and one 
result of this was that nearly all the British and other 
European workmen and officials were dismissed, and 
only native Mexicans engaged. The opposition from 
London was not unreasonable when one comes to re- 
member that the sum of £30,000 had been paid in 
about one year's time to men most of whom had to be 
dismissed for incompetency or insubordination, while 
£100,000 had been expended upon machinery not one 
twentieth part of which, we are told, was ever used. . It 
would appear then that the lamentable experiences at 
Panama were not so unique as historians have represent- 
ed, although they were no doubt more extensive. It is 
only another proof of Solomon's wise words — "There is 
nothing new under the sun." 

There is probably no subject which concerns share- 
holders interested in mining businesses located in foreign 
countries, more vitally than that of titles. It is to be 
feared, however, that this matter is not as thoroughly 
considered by investors as it should be, while purchasers 
of mining properties, whose sole idea is, perhaps, to 
redispose of their acquisitions at high profits — and as 
soon as possible — frequently display lamentable negli- 
gence in assuring themselves as to the legality and re- 
liability of such titles. In Mexico, where mining laws 



^MEXICO: OUTPUT OF GOLD: lejJ-igOS^^ 



J87J-81 1882-S 



45 



^40 . 



.55 . 



.3a„ 



COPyRIC^fn ALL KK^HTb RCSIiR^eO 



1886 -y 18(^0-5. JSg^'7 wp'oi 



.25 



EXPORTATION, GOLD VALUE. 



FJSCAL rSAR^ 



igoo-iqoi 
igof-igdz 
igoz-igos 
igoh-jgo^ 
/qo4-jgos 
TOTAL- $ 

£ 



COLO 



8.gss.siboo 

g.5IS.2SJ.OO 

gM9Moo 
iojzb.43g.oo 
13. 6gbM.Q0 



jzi6z6gi,co 



10,422.558. 



TOTAL MINERALdl 



gj.gn.6i7.4i 

g2pj5.17g.sg 

J ii>,gg2.20i.8o 

iig,25bi62gs 

/J6 6582f528 



JS8,8J5f?CS.05 



J/J 7^66/ 



.20. 



.16 . 



.10 . 



. 5 _ 



O 



GOLD PRODUCT/ON iqOI-QS. 



iqoo-i(^oi 

I<^02-ig03 

igoz-igo^ 
iqo4-iqos 



q.52J,S'}2 

ggs2.6]b 
io.o66.soo 
jissjsgo 



^ STE/iL.MC 



isdf^os- 

2,0 J 3.30/ 
2 30 j.^ 76 



<i -,.-=-■-. 



3S82.6ati 



.z.gu.2ZS 



'^^5gooi$ 



$gMjS^ 



mssiz? 



IQ02-0S. 



r903ig66 



-45. 



,_.40 . 



„.J^ - 



20 



.^..IS 



10 . 



Plate 47.] 



Safety of Mining Titles 223 

are exceedingly simple, titles are usually perfectly well 
secured, and the Government has done more, perhaps, to 
render the mining laws fair, just, and reliable, than that 
of any other country with which I am acquainted. It is 
but natural that in a foreign country disputes should oc- 
casionally arise, but such cases, however, are singularly 
few in Mexico, and they certainly receive a fair and im- 
partial hearing, justice being done to both parties. Nor 
should there be any occasion to fear lawsuits if proper 
precautions are taken in the transfer of properties, and 
some native lawyer well acquainted with the Mexican 
law of titles is employed. 

This is neither the time nor the place to discourse upon 
the question of mining titles at length; it is sufficient, 
probably, to say that while many titles to mining proper- 
ties date back for hundreds of years, as a general rule 
this lapse of time is no impediment to their substantia- 
tion. Records for several hundreds of years exist, and al- 
though to the uninitiated some of the titles covering 
mining properties, upon first investigation, may appear 
rather involved owing to the number of individuals, liv- 
ing and dead, who are or were at one time interested in 
them, they are really simple enough compared with the 
titles, and the laws which cover them, existing in the 
United States of America. Those of Mexico certainly 
afford fewer loopholes for evasion and less chance for 
mere technicalities proving successful. It will, there- 
fore, be recognized that foreign capital invested in Mex- 
ican mining enterprises is quite as safe as that invested in 
most countries, and a great deal safer than in some. 

In this connection I may call attention to a recently 
organized concern called the "Mines Selection Company 



224 Mexico's Treasure-House 

of Mexico," having its principal quarters at Guanajuato 
and for its main object the rendering of a confidential 
and efficient service, not only to the mine-owners, mining 
companies, etc., but to prospective individual purchasers 
and shareholders. This company owed its inception to 
the ingenuity and enterprise, coupled with the ripe ex- 
perience, of Messrs. MacDonald of Guanajuato, who are 
and have been for some years connected with the 
Guanajuato Consohdated Mining & Milling Company. 
Through their efforts and services, reports supplement- 
ed with maps and estimates of the costs of the most 
modern and economical mining and milling machinery, 
can be henceforth obtained, and also ideas gathered as to 
the most efficient methods of working the mines and con- 
ducting the extraction and treatment of the ores. For 
such prospective purchasers of Mexican mining proper- 
ties who have no personal knowledge of the country, the 
services of men of experience hke Messrs. MacDonald 
cannot be overrated. It is probably no exaggeration to 
say that there is no mining property in the Guanajuato 
District of Mexico with which these gentlemen are not 
intimately acquainted; and it is only necessary to recol- 
lect the fact that it was through them that El Real 
del Monte mines, at Pachuca, were disposed of to an 
American corporation under the most successful aus- 
pices. It is questionable whether any more brilliant coup 
than this has been carried out for a long time, and it is 
especially noteworthy from the fact that for a year 
previous attempts had been made in other quarters to 
complete the transaction, but without avail. The Amer- 
ican company owning El Real del Monte mines to-daj'^ 
is one of the most powerful and influential corporations 
in the United States. 



Advantages of Electrical Machinery 225 

ELECTRICITY IN MINING. 

The crude patio process of amalgamation for extract- 
ing the precious metals from the ore has, as I have 
shown, been superseded by mechanical appliances, and 
steam had hardly been adopted as an improved means 
of power in Mexico to replace man and mule when 
electricity became very generally and decidedly quickly 
introduced. This came about naturally enough in this 
Republic, where fuel is expensive and water power is 
available. Guanajuato, as a district, has been among 
the first to adopt electricity in all mining and miUing 
possibilities. Not only is the expense of power reduced 
from one-half to one-third, but the conveniences which 
accrue and the possibihties which open with electric drive 
are unlimited. One has only to compare for a moment 
the simplicity of running two or three wires to elec- 
trically-driven pumps or compreissors in a mine and 
working the same by steam-pipe with its wasteful con- 
densation, to perceive and appreciate the advantages 
of the former method. With electric motors, the gen- 
erating station (as compared with the boiler plant) 
can be located at practically any distance. The com- 
pressors can be placed near the work instead of piping 
air at a loss. 

There is practically no modern machine about a mine 
or mill that cannot be motor-driven; furthermore, there 
is hardly a machine which is steam-driven that cannot be 
adapted readily to electric drive by a shght change in 
some part of its construction. Hoists, pumps, compres- 
sors, blowers, etc., in connection with mines and crushers, 



228 Meanco's Treasure-House 

was adopted, the cost of motive power was never less 
than $20 (£4) per horse-power per month, which after- 
wards costs $7 (£1/8) per horse-power per month. 

With steam it has formerly been necessary to drive 
long stamp-battery shafts with miUs of 100 stamps or 
more. In Guanajuato, the Peregrina Mining and Mill- 
ing Co., the San Prospero Mines Co., and the Guana- 
juato Amalgamated Gold Mines Co., which are now 
almost ready to start new mills, drive units of 20 stamps 
each by a 50 horse-power motor, thereby saving the long 
shafting losses and at the same time rendering it possible 
to shut down any one part of the stamps at any time. 

In the handhng of large quantities of comparatively 
low-grade ore these economies and improvements must 
not be lost sight of; nor have the mining interests in 
Guanajuato been guilty of this, as is clearly evidenced 
by the fact that the Westinghouse Electric and Manu- 
facturing Co. of Pittsburg, Pa., U. S. A., have equipped 
throughout with modern electrical machinery the more 
modern mines and mills which are now about to operate. 



\ 



Chapter XVI. 

Some Guanajuato Men who Have Helped to Restore the District 
to Prosperity. — The Governor of Guanajuato. — The Firm of 
McElhiney & Bryant. — The Holdings Which They Control. — 
Mr. Geo. W. McElhiney. — Mr. George W. Bryant. — Mr. Frank 
G. Peck. — Mr. A. B. Carpenter. — Mr. F. J. Hobson. — Mr. 
Percy H. Ramsden. — Mr. John C. Brennon. — Mr. Theodore 
Dwight. — Captain W. Murdoch Wiley. — Mr. C. W. Van Law. 
— Mr. Dwight Furness. — Mr. M. E. MacDonald.^Mr. Ber- 
nard MacDonald. — Mr. E. P. Ryan. — Mr. Lawrence P. Adams. 
— Mr. Norman Rowe. 

SEISTOR Lie. D. Joaquin Obregon Gonzalez, the 
Governor of the State of Guanajuato, was born 
in November, 1843, and is therefore 63 years 
of age. He studied for the law, and in 1864 received 
the title of "abogado" (advocate). Entering politics 
as a profession, Senor Obregon was elected Deputy 
to the Congress of the Union in 1871, and continued 
to sit as a member of that body until its termination 
six years later, namely, 1877. President Lerdo de 
Tejada appointed Senor Obregon a Judge in 1876. 
He is and has been for many years a member of a 
number of learned and scientific societies, and he was 
duly elected to his present position as Governor of the 
State of Guanajuato in the year 1893. His Ex- 
cellency is a thoroughly genial and capable man, ex- 
tremely popular alike with the people and the com- 
mercial classes. At all times of public misfortune he has 
demonstrated his great sympathy for and active interest 
in the poorer people, while no popular undertaking ever 

Page 229 



MINING DISTRICT of GUANAJUATO. MEXICO 
THE GUANAJUATO DEVELOPMENT CO. 




230 Mexico's Treasure-House 

lacks his patronage and co-operation. Senor Don Joa- 
quin Obregon Gonzalez lives in modest style, having the 
palace for his official residence in the City of Guana- 
juato, and a charming but very simple house for the 
summer months in the residential quarter of La Presa. 

MESSRS. McELHINEY AND BRYANT. 

These gentlemen have been interested in Guanajuato 
since the year 1895, when, as employees of other com- 
panies, they convinced themselves that Guanajuato was 
a camp second to none, and that it merely needed prop- 
er methods adapted to mining and milhng its ores to 
make it one of the best known and most projfitable min- 
ing camps in the world. Mr. McElhiney was connected 
from the beginning with the building of the plant of 
the Guanajuato Power & Electric Company, associated 
with Mr. Leonard E. Curtis and Mr. Henry Hine, of 
Colorado Springs. This is one of the most modern elec- 
trical transmission plants in the world, built for the 
purpose of supplying Guanajuato with cheap electric 
power. The establishment of this power company made 
it possible to mine cheaply the enormous bodies of low- 
grade ore known to be contained in the old mines of the 
camp, and at the same time encourage prospective work 
upon virgin ground, where it was practically certain that 
other great ore bodies existed. 

Mr. McElhiney and his partner, Mr. Bryant, have 
been interested in the promotion of nearly every enter- 
prise that is working in Guanajuato to-day, and have 
invested, and re-invested, in all those enterprises, there- 
by showing their absolute confidence in the future of the 
camp. At present they are officers and stockholders in 
the following companies: 



Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant 231 

The Peregrina Mining and Milling Company, 

Guanajuato Development Company, 

The Aparecida Mines Company, 

The Victoria Mines Company, 

The La Luz Mines Company, 

The Guanajuato River Gold Mining Co., 

The San Matias Mining & Milling Company, 

The Guadalupe Mining and Milling Company, 

The Securities Corporation, Ltd., 

The Mexican Securities Company, 

The Navidad Mines Company, 

The Buenavista Mines Company, 
while they are also very large stockholders in the fol- 
lowing : 

The Guanajuato Reduction & Mines Company, 

The Guanajuato Power and Electric Company, 
and owners of: 

The Matilde Mine, 

The Lepanto Mine, 

The San Jorge Mine, 

The Argentina Mine, 

The Regie Mine, 
and many others. These gentlemen are constantly on 
the alert to assist in the opening up and developing of 
good mining properties in Guanajuato. They have 
joined the Guanajuato Development Company in the 
opening up of the Pinguico mine, of which they were 
former owners, and in the Central group upon which 
they had erected a mill and which they were developing 
at the time that it was sold to the Guanajuato Develop- 
ment Company. They obtained for the last named com- 
pany, under bond and lease, the great Cedro property. 



232 Meocico's Treasure-House 

From Mr. Dwight Furness, for many years American 
Consul at Guanajuato, Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant 
purchased the Nayal concentrating and amalgamating 
mill, which was for a number of years shut down, and 
have now changed it into a large cyanide plant, where 
purchased ores are treated by combined amalgamation, 
concentration and cyanide process. 

This mill, it may be mentioned, is situated seven miles 
from the City of Guanajuato, is in the center of a gold 
district, and so much ore is constantly being offered that 
it is difficult to increase the mill rapidly enough to accept 
the ore. The ore being very easily treated by the cyanide 
process and the mines furnishing it in the inmiediate 
vicinity, it is possible to offer a very low treatment 
charge, thereby stimulating activity in the immediate 
surrounding district among small owners who have not 
the financial strength to build their own mills. 

MR. GEORGE W. McELHINEY. 

Mr. George W. McElhiney is a native of the State 
of Missouri, United States of America. He first came 
to Mexico some twelve years ago to enter the railroad- 
contracting business. His attention being called to the 
rich deposits contained in the Guanajuato River, his 
first experience in Guanajuato was with these deposits. 
It has needed years of experience to find out the proper 
way to treat these enormous tailings deposits, but Mr. 
McElhiney's patience and perseverance will probably 
see reahzed, in another year, the construction of an 
enormous plant which should produce profits of one 
million doUars per annum from this project. 



Mr. George W. Bryant 233 



Associated with American capitalists he sought a 
water power of sufficient capacity to supply 10,000 
horse-power to Guanajuato, within a radius of 100 miles 
from that point, and was successful in procuring the 
Zamora waterfall, which now supplies all the power 
used in Guanajuato and in the neighboring cities. 

In the many mine promotions instituted by Mr. Geo. 
W. Bryant and himself, his part was to raise the money; 
and in no case has he ever failed, as is evidenced by some 
eight million dollars (American money) being brought 
into Guanajuato through his efforts. Absolutely un- 
known in the financial centers of the United States when 
he commenced this work, his success evidences the im- 
pression which his sincerity and perseverance have made 
among investors. 

Mr. McElhiney is now President of The Guanajuato 
Development Co. of 40 Wall Street, New York City; 
Vice-President of The Securities Corporation, Ltd., 
at the same address ; Treasurer of the Peregrina Mining 
and Milling Company, also at the same address; and a 
director of many other mining and milling companies 
in Guanajuato. Guanajuato owes much to the tireless 
energy of this still young man, without whose work in 
raising capital it would have been absolutely impossible 
to carry out the many projects which are now attaining 
great success in the camp. 

MR. GEORGE W. BRYANT. 

Mr. George W. Bryant, the General Manager, is a 
thoroughly practical mining man, with a wide and varied 
experience in the Guanajuato Camp, where he has been 
a resident for over 12 years. Mr. Bryant has filled, and 



234 Mexico's Treasure-House 

filled with distinction to himself and every satisfaction to 
his colleagues, almost every kind of position available 
in over twenty different mining properties of this 
district. As a consequence, he acts as General Man- 
ager for, and holds the full power of attorney giving 
him absolute charge of their business and property, from 
some twenty corporations and individuals, representing 
nearly $20,000,000 of capital. He commenced his ex- 
periences in Mexico as an accountant and business man- 
ager of properties which were owned by the United 
Mexican Mines Association, Limited. 

For some years Mr. Bryant remained as Resident 
Manager of this company, after which he became the 
General Manager of the Victoria Mines Co., and later 
on he had charge of the San Prospero Mines, the Refu- 
gio Mines, the Aparecida Mines, the Central group and 
many other equally important and successful properties 
in the Guanajuato Camp. 

It is not only in this district, nor, indeed, in Mexico 
generally, that Mr. Bryant is known. As a clever and 
dependable mine-manager and expert, his opinions are 
sought and his judgments are quoted largely in the Unit- 
ed States of America, while in Great Britain his assist- 
ance and ripe experience would, I feel assured, prove 
of considerable value to all who may be desirous of 
knowing something about the Guanajuato Camp from 
a man who is absolutely competent and thoroughly re- 
liable. In Guanajuato there is no one who is more 
highly esteemed nor more genuinely popular than Mr. 
George W. Bryant, whose reputation as a distinguished 
and exceptionally capable mining-man is equalled by his 
personal popularity as an employer, born of a great 



Mr. Frank G. Peck 235 



generosity of heart, justice to others, a liberality in his 
dealings with his fellow-workers and excellence as a 
citizen. 

MR. FRANK G. PECK. 

Mr. Frank G. Peck is a very well-known miner of 
the State of Colorado, and more especially of Cripple 
Creek in that State, where he has been a resident as 
miner and operator for many years, also as large 
stockholder in and Secretary of the famous Portland 
Gold Mining Company, which pays $1,000,000 (£200,- 
000) dividends annually. Mr. Peck, who is very favor- 
ably known to the mining public, is interested in many 
other large mining properties of Cripple Creek as well 
as of Colorado and the Western United States gen- 
erally. He is a Director of the First National Bank of 
Colorado Springs, considered to be one of the strongest 
financial institutions west of the Mississippi River, and 
also of the Colorado Title and Trust Company, of Colo- 
rado Springs, besides being considerably interested in 
many other local institutions. As Secretary and member 
of the Executive Committee of the Portland Gold Min- 
ing Company, Mr. Peck is in constant and direct touch 
with the operation of that mine and of its large and suc- 
cessful mill at Colorado City. In the year 1900, Mr. 
Peck first became interested in Guanajuato, and from 
his first visit to the camp he felt perfectly convinced that 
it had a great future, only needing capital and proper 
mining and milling methods to make it one of the 
famous camps of the world of the future, as it had 
made itself in the past. Mr. Peck verified his sentiments 
by assisting in the organization of the Victoria Mines 



236 Meojico's Treasure-House 

Company, of which he is President. He has constantly 
worked his San Prosper o Mines, and is now building 
the 40-stamp mill known by the name of "San Matias," 
described upon a preceding page. He is President of 
and a stockholder in the Aparecida Mines Company; 
President of the Peregrina Mining and Milling Com- 
pany; Treasurer and Director of the Guanajuato De- 
velopment Company; Treasurer and Director of The 
Securities Corporation, Ltd.; Vice-President and Di- 
rector of the Guanajuato River Gold Mining Company, 
and a very large stockholder in the Guanajuato Reduc- 
tion and Mines Company and in the Guanajuato Power 
and Electric Company. Apparently Mr. Peck must have 
found his investments in Guanajuato highly profitable. 
Where so shrewd and cautious a man as Mr. Pecks leads, 
even the most timid investor may safely follow; and his 
large holdings in the Guanajuato district may be ac- 
cepted as an undoubted testimony to its value, otherwise 
he would scarcely have continued to acquire them. 

MR. A. B. CARPENTER. 

Mr. A. B. Carpenter, who occupies the respon- 
sible position of Consulting Engineer, in conjunction 
with Mr. Brennon, to the Peregrina mine and group of 
properties associated with the Guanajuato Development 
Company, is a comparatively young man, but with 
exceptional ability and experience. For several years 
past he has been examining and reporting upon Mexican 
mines, and is consequently thoroughly familiar with the 
mining conditions and most of the mining camps of 
Mexico. Mr. Carpenter is an American, having gradu- 
ated at the Beloit College of Wisconsin some thirteen 




His Excellency Senor Lie. D. Joaquin Obregon Gonzalez. 

Governor of the State of Guanajuato since 1893. 



I'late 49.] 



[See page 237. 



Mr, Francis J, Hohson 237 



years ago, after taking his degrees of Sc. B. & E. M. 
at the famous Michigan College of Mines at Houghton, 
Michigan. He commenced his experiences at the Cripple 
Creek and Victor gold fields, in Colorado. Coming to 
Mexico, Mr. Carpenter speedily found his field of occu- 
pation, becoming identified with the Mexican Gold & 
Silver Recovery Company, Limited, which had and has 
extensive interests in this Republic. His reports are 
now accepted generally throughout the country as au- 
thoritive and absolutely reliable, and they carry great 
weight with both practical miners and shareholders in 
the Republic, as well as those in the United States of 
America and abroad. 

MR. FRANCIS J. HOBSON. 

Mr. F. J. Hobson, E. M., is a mining engineer of rec- 
ognized position, and his reports are sought after by all 
who would ascertain authoritatively the value of mines 
in the Guanajuato and Durango districts. Mr. Hobson 
was a pupil at the Missouri State University, and subse- 
quently at the Cornell University, at both of which he 
distinguished himself. He has been practising as a min- 
ing engineer since 1890, having successively passed 
through the different positions of surveyor, mill-man, 
mine-foreman, assayer, and manager to the executive 
positions in connection with active mining operations. 
In 1900, Mr. Hobson joined the MacArthur-Forrest Cy- 
anide Company as chief chemist, still occupying that 
responsible position, while he has also superintended 
the erection and operation of a considerable number of 
cyanide plants for this company in difi^erent parts of 
Mexico. As Consulting Metallurgist to the Peregrina 



238 Mexico's Treasure-House 

Mining and Milling Company, the Guanajuato Devel- 
opment Company and the Guanajuato Reduction and 
Mines Company, as well as to other large companies in 
Mexico and the United States of America, Mr. Hobson 
has been of great value, and the successful treatment of 
the company's ores speaks well for his ability and the 
value of his services. It is a great question whether the 
metallurgical department of this or of any other mine 
could be in more competent hands. 

MR. PERCY H. RAMSDEN. 

Mr. Percy H. Ramsden is an Englishman and an 
admirable representative of his race in appearance, 
character and ability. At present in his forty-eighth 
year, Mr. Ramsden is regarded as one of the shrewdest 
and most reliable examiners of mining properties in 
Mexico. Born in London and educated at Chigwell, he 
came out to America about twenty-seven years ago, 
and was there connected with a number of prominent 
mines in the United States before coming down to Mex- 
ico. After spending about 18 months in the mining 
district of Chihuahua, Mr. Ramsden came on to Guana- 
juato, where he has since remained. Every property 
which Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant have since ac- 
quired either wholly or in part has been previously ex- 
amined by Mr. Ramsden on their behalf, and it is a note- 
worthy fact that in all instances where fuller examina- 
tions by the most experienced mining engineers has taken 
place, Mr. Ramsden's opinions and findings have been 
substantially endorsed. His intimate knowledge of the 
entire district and his careful methods of procedure 
render his services especially valuable to his company 



Mr. John C. Brennon 239 

and his associates. Combined with a keen eye for oppor- 
tunities and a high sense of his responsibility, Mr. Percy 
H. Ramsden possesses an attractive personality and as 
a consequence wields much influence. 

MR. JOHN C. BRENNON. 

Mr. John Clark Brennon, who is connected with 
the Guanajuato Development Company, was born in 
Washington, and is about 34 years of age. Educated 
at Georgetown University, he went to Michigan College 
where he remained for three and a half years. Thence 
Mr. Brennon went to Sonora, Mexico, and here as an 
employee of the British company, the Grand Central 
Mining Company, Limited, he saw a good deal of active 
employment. His position was that of Assistant En- 
gineer, and after remaining in this capacity for three 
years Mr. Brennon travelled extensively through the 
States of Chihuahua, Sinoloa and again through Sonora. 
this time as a mining engineer. Subsequently, becoming 
interested with others in a small but promising mining 
property, known as the Ajuchitlan Mining and Milling 
Company, he spent four years in the capacity of Man- 
ager. His seven years' varied experience in Mexican 
mining has stood Mr. Brennon in excellent stead, since 
he is now a partner with Mr. A. B. Carpenter, the min- 
ing engineer already referred to above, in conjunction 
with whom he occupies the responsible and important 
position of Consulting Engineer to the Guanajuato De- 
velopment Company. 

MR. THEODORE DWIGHT. 

Mr. Theodore Dwight, who is the recently elected 
President of the Mineral Development Company, al- 



240 Mexico^ s Treasure-House 

though a comparatively young man, being on the 
sunny side of 40, has seen a very considerable experi- 
ence as an engineer, both electrical and mining. Born 
in 1868, Mr. D wight received a thorough education in 
the United States, and in 1884, after five and a half 
years spent in Europe, became interested in gas-lighting. 
He soon afterwards connected himself with the Institute 
of Mining Engineers, and in the Autumn of 1890 he en- 
tered the workshops of the Thomson-Houston Electric 
Company, probably one of the finest training and finish- 
ing schools for electrical engineers in the world. In 
less than two years he became an assistant to the 
First Vice-President and General Manager. It is cer- 
tainly a tribute to Mr. Dwight's ability and sense of re- 
sponsibility that this important work was offered him 
after so comparatively shght an experience in the com- 
pany's employ ; and it is still more remarkable, perhaps, 
that upon quitting that concern's ofiice he was ofi^ered 
and accepted a precisely similar position with the 
equally important New York concern, the General 
Electric Company. In 1894 Mr. D wight was appointed 
Assistant Secretary to the American Institute of Min- 
ing Engineers, and resigned from that position in 
order to assume the presidency and management of 
the Mineral Development Company. Mr. Dwight has 
been elected Councillor and Director of the American 
Institute of Mining Engineers, and is a Trustee of 
the United Engineering Society formed to administer 
Mr. Andrew Carnegie's gift of $1,500,000 (.£300,000) 
to the engineering profession of America. Mr. Dwight, 
who is a bachelor, is a very able administrator and a 
highly gifted conversationalist. 



A Man of Many Attainments 241 



CAPTAIN W. MURDOCH WILEY. 

Captain W. Murdoch Wiley, of the Mineral De- 
velopment Company of Guanajuato, was born in Sal- 
isbury, North Carolina, and is of Scotch-Irish and 
French-Huguenot extraction. His first important ex- 
perience was in connection with the 1877 North CaroHna 
Geological Siu-vey, and during the period between 1877 
and 1884 he was principally at sea in various capacities, 
including that of the command of British and Danish 
vessels. From 1884 to 1885 he was at Trieste, Austria, 
in command of a Danish steam yacht, the "Adria," be- 
longing to the Danish Minister at the Court of Vienna. 
From 1885 to 1886 he was in the U. S. Consular service 
in the South of France, while in 1887 he was a mem- 
ber of the "Figaro" expedition into the Sahara Desert 
for the purpose of determining the feasibihty of in- 
undating the Sahara and converting it into a navigable 
inland sea. 

From 1888 to 1889, Captain Wiley was interested in 
a brokerage and commission business in London, and 
from 1889 to 1891 he was acting as the Engineer of 
Maintenance of Way on the Southern Railway, sta- 
tioned at Asheville, N. C. He resigned this position to 
become the Managing Director of the International 
Trades Exhibition, Royal Agricultural Hall, London, 
and acted as the Special Correspondent of several Eng- 
hsh and American newspapers. In 1898, Captain 
Wiley took part in the Spanish- American War, after 
which, in 1889 to 1903, he took charge of the Standard 
Oil mining operations, in the Appalachian Belt. From 
1904 to 1906 he acted as the President of the Mineral 



24*2 Mexico's Treasure-House 

Development Co., President of the Southern Develop- 
ment Co., Director of the Davis & Wiley Bank, and 
President and Director of various other American and 
Mexican Mining and Industrial companies. He is a 
member of the American Institute of Mining En- 
gineers, of the Engineers' Club of New York, the 
Southern Society of New York, the North CaroHna So- 
ciety of New York, the Fulton Club of New York, the 
American Club of Mexico City, the Education-Rossers 
Academy of Navigation, London, and the Johns Hop- 
kins University, Baltimore, U. S. A. 

MR. C. W. VAN LAW. 

As manager of the highly important group of mines 
belonging to the Guanajuato Reduction and Mines 
Company, Mr. C. W. Van Law occupies one of the 
most onerous and responsible positions in the camp. He 
is comparatively a young man; but, like most Ameri- 
can mine managers to be found in Mexico to-day, he 
evinces all the brightness, discernment and shrewdness 
of his remarkable nation. 

Mr. C. W. Van Law was born in 1874, and in 1882 
he moved from Marietta, Ohio, his native town, to Col- 
orado, which has been the cradle of so many clever and 
successful mining men. He was prepared for coUege 
in the excellent Chicago Manual Training School, 
where the rising generation of Americans are carefully 
taught to use their hands as well as their eyes and their 
brains. From this school Mr. Van Law went to the 
Cornell University, and entering the mechanical en- 
gineering com*se he graduated in 1896, with special 
honors for original research. Immediately upon grad- 



Mr, D wight Furness 243 

uation, he went to the Tomboy mine, Telluride, Colo., 
there acting as assistant to the superintendent of mills. 

In 1898 young Van Law became successively Master 
Mechanic and Mill Superintendent of the Columbia 
Menona Company, in the same district. Then he spent 
six months in the Yaqui country, of the Sonora State of 
Mexico, for the Sonora Development Company, being 
in charge of their ten mining enterprises. In 1889 he 
returned to Georgetown, Colorado, as manager of a 
silver-lead proposition located there. 

In the same year, towards the autumn, Mr. Van Law 
was engaged by the intending purchasers of the 
Smuggler Union Property, in Telluride, Colorado, to 
make a series of metallurgical tests upon the existing 
plant, which was brought to a 500-tons-a-day capacity 
as the results of these same experiments. A consider- 
able plant was also built for the same proprietors at 
Silverton, and a large hydro-electric installation was 
erected in Telluride. 

In 1902 Mr. Van Law became associated with the 
famous machinery manufacturing firm — the Allis- Chal- 
mers Company at Chicago, and in August, 1903, he was 
appointed as the Chief Engineer of their Mining De- 
partment, a position which he occupied until he was en- 
gaged to make an examination of the various properties 
of the Guanajuato Reduction and Mines Company, 
and ended by becoming their Resident Manager. 

MR. DWIGHT FURNESS. 

Mr. Dwight Furness arrived in Guanajuato in Oc- 
tober, 1887, to take charge of the mines known as Calera 
and Cebada, and which now bear the name of Negocia- 



244 Meosico's Treasure-House 



cion Minera "La Esperanza." These properties were 
held by a St. Louis company called the Santana Mining 
Co. Owing to questions arising as to the form of lease, 
and also from the fact that the properties had been mis- 
represented, the business was dropped early in the fol- 
lowing year. Mr. Furness then began buying ores for 
the Omaha & Grant smelter, through their representa- 
tive, Wm. Mathews, and he associated with himself in 
this business the then United States Consular Agent at 
Guanajuato, Mr. Edward WiUiams. Then the firm be- 
came Williams & Furness. 

The new firm lost money, however, the first six 
months, although they were doing a business of $50,000 
per month. Mr. Williams shortly afterwards left the 
firm and the business was continued under the name of 
"Furness & Higby," until the end of the year 1889. The 
concern was now very successful. 

The action of the Sherman law and the fluctuating 
price of silver caused suspension of ore-buying tempo- 
rarily, but early in 1891 Mr. Dwight Furness resumed 
business in general merchandise, under the name of 
"Dwight Furness & Co." He shipped ores to Omaha 
and also to the Pueblo smelter, which was owned by the 
Messrs. Guggenheim. Up to the time of ore-buying by 
Mr. Furness, no ore had been shipped from Guanajuato 
to the United States, but ores, assaying over 300 ounces 
per ton, had been exported to Europe, the costs of 
freight and treatment amounting to over $50 gold 
(£lO) per ton. The cost of freight to Omaha was 
$19 gold (£3/16) per ton and the treatment charge 
amounted to $16 (£3/4) gold per ton, the total 



The Smelting Situation 245 

charge to the miner therefore being from $38 to $40 
(£7/15 to £8) per ton of ore. 

In 1891 the Messrs. Guggenheim estabhshed the 
smelter at Monterey, and since that time they have prac- 
tically controlled the smelting situation in Mexico, and 
treatment charges have been steadily reduced until they 
now average about $25 to $30 Mex. (£2/10 to £3) 
per ton of ore. In 1892 Mr. Furness organized the 
concern into a stock company called the Furness & 
Lewis Co., and a very extensive business was done until 
1896, when the concern was sold out to Lewis, Mr. Fur- 
ness reserving the State of Guanajuato and continuing 
business under the name of Dwight Furness & Co., and 
later under the corporate name of "The Dwight Fur- 
ness Co." The Furness & Lewis Co. did a very exten- 
sive business, amounting to about $2,000,000 per year, 
scattered through twelve agencies, distributed in the 
principal mining centers of the Republic from Chihua- 
hua to Oaxaca. 

Mr. Furness has always had control of these different 
companies, and he managed the business. The head 
company are still doing business of a little over one 
hundred thousand pesos per month, or $1,200,000.00 per 
year. In connection with ore-buying and merchandising, 
the company have done considerable mining, and still 
own a great deal of valuable mining ground in the 
States of Guanajuato and Jalisco. The Dwight Fur- 
ness Company has also control of the San Gregorio R. 
R., some 30 kilometers long from Marfil to the San 
Gregorio mine, and is now arranging to continue the 
same from Marfil to Guanajuato and on to Irapuato, 
and from there to a connection with the Mexican Na- 



246 Mexico's Treasure-House 

tional at Salamanca, thus giving Guanajuato another 
trunk line railroad connection. Mr. Furness has been 
Consular Agent of the United States at Guanajuato 
since November, 1889, and his appointment bears the 
signature of James G. Blaine, late Secretary of State. 
He has been connected with most of the leading enter- 
prises in Guanajuato, and is a Director of the bank, etc. 
Mr. Furness is everybody's friend, and probably does 
not possess an enemy in the world. 

MR. E. P. RYAN. 

Mr. Edwin P. Ryan, Manager of the Peregrina 
Mine, was educated at the Armour Institute of Tech- 
nology, at Chicago, lUinois. He afterwards went to the 
Michigan College of Mines, which has turned out a 
great number of brilliant young engineers now occupy- 
ing prominent positions in all parts of the world, Mr. 
Ryan graduated four years later (1900) with the de- 
grees of Bachelor of Science and Engineer of Mines. 
He was the Mining Engineer of the Isle Royale Copper 
Company from 1900-1901. Subsequently he was ap- 
pointed as Chief Engineer and afterwards Assistant 
Manager for the Mexican Gold and Silver Recovery 
Company, Limited, of London, of the Buena Vista 
Mines at La Yesca, Territory of Tepic, Mexico, and 
served there from 1901-1903. He then became the Con- 
sulting and Examining Engineer, as well as Chief En- 
gineer of Construction, for the Kingston Copper Com- 
pany, at Guadalajara, Mexico, staying there from 1903 
to 1905, and this same year he was appointed Mining 
Engineer to the Securities Corporation, Limited, of 
New York and Guanajuato. In 1905 Mr. Ryan was 



Mr. Lawrence P. Adams 247 

appointed General Superintendent of the Peregrina 
Mining & Milling Co. of Guanajuato, and remains in 
that position to-day. His wide experience embraces 
mining, milling, cyaniding and railroad engineering in 
all its branches, gained in the iron and copper districts 
of the United States and Mexico. Mr. Ryan is ex- 
tremely well-liked by all who know him, and very highly 
esteemed by the company fortunate enough to have se- 
cured his services. 

MR. LAWRENCE P. ADAMS. 

Mr. Lawrence P. Adams, Manager of the Guana- 
juato Amalgamated Gold Mines Co., was born in New 
York City, July 26, 1873, and was educated at Phillips' 
Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H., and at Harvard Uni- 
versity, Cambridge, Mass. He first came to Guana- 
juato January, 1901, where he was engaged in prospect- 
ing until about June, 1905, becoming thoroughly fa- 
miliar during that time with the mining conditions in 
and about Guanajuato. In the above mentioned month 
he closed an option for the "Negociacion de La Paz" 
group of mines, which includes the Jesus Maria, Villa- 
rino, Providencia, Sangre de Cristo, and Remedios, and 
shortly thereafter he succeeded in organizing the Gua- 
najuato Amalgamated Gold Mines Co. to work those 
properties. Of this company Mr. Adams became the 
Resident Manager. The subject of this biography, it 
may be said, has made it a point to surround himself 
with the most able men in the various Hues of the mining 
business that it has been possible to secure, and it is very 
generally conceded that the engineering and technical 
force at the mines has no superior in Guanajuato. One 



248 Mexico's Treasure-House 

of Mr. Adams' most capable and accomplished coad- 
jutors is Mr. V. B. Sherrod, Constructing and Mining 
Engineer, and a man of the greatest ability. The com- 
pany may be said to have been exceedingly fortunate in 
the possession of two such able officials as Mr. Adams 
and Mr. Sherrod, as well as Mr. E. Harris, the Chief 
Miner and Superintendent of the underground work- 
ings, lately with the El Ore Mining and Railway Com- 
pany, Limited. 

MR. NORMAN ROWE. 

Mr. Norman Rowe, Manager of the Guanajuato 
Power and Electric Co., graduated from Cornell Uni- 
versity, 1903, with degree M. E. with special reference 
to work done in electricity. After graduating, he spent 
five years with the Westinghouse Electric and Manu- 
facturing Co., most of that time being passed in 
the testing department. Mr. Rowe eventually left the 
employ of the Westinghouse Co. to accept the position 
of Electrical Engineer for the Compafiia Industrial de 
Orizaba, Mexico, for the construction of an important 
electrical transmission plant near Orizaba. After fin- 
ishing the work at Orizaba, he went to California as engi- 
neer of the San Francisco office of the Westinghouse 
Electric and Manufacturing Co., and from there he 
came back to Mexico City as Chief Engineer of the San 
Ildefonso Hydraulic and Electrical System. During 
this period the six hydraulic plants were finished there 
and put in operation, and a complete underground and 
overhead system was installed in Mexico City, together 
with an auxiliary steam and storage-battery plant. Mr. 
Rowe subsequently came to the Guanajuato Power and 



Mr. M. E. MacDonald 249 

Electric Co. at the time that the construction work was 
commenced, and has remained with them ever since. In 
all probability Mr. Howe's name will be shortly men- 
tioned with distinction in connection with a new and 
recently-patented insulator which has been invented by 
him and extremely well received by experts in the elec- 
tric world. 

MR. M. E. MacDONALD. 

Mr. M. E. MacDonald, Manager of the Guanajuato 
Consolidated Mining and Milling Company, began 
his mining career in the Rocky Mountain regions of 
the United States in 1883. From then until 1893 he 
spent his time in the various practical branches of min- 
ing, mastering, as he went along, every detail of the 
practical work. Beginning with 1888, he occupied the 
responsible positions of foreman and mine superin- 
tendent in the largely producing mines of Colorado, 
Idaho and Montana. In 1898, he went to Zacatecas, 
Mexico, to accept the management of the San Cristobal 
Mining Company at that place, and in the following 
year he went to Guanajuato to take the position he now 
occupies with the Guanajuato Consolidated Mining & 
Milling Company, that concern having been just organ- 
ized to take over and operate the Sirena Mine. At this 
time the Sirena Mine, which is now one of the largest 
producing mines in Guanajuato District, was full of 
water to the tunnel level, and work on it had been sus- 
pended by its Mexican owners, because it could no 
longer be worked profitably by them. 

The problems involved in the drainage and explora- 
tion of this mine were then undertaken and mastered, 



250 Mexico's Treasure-House 

and a pan-amalgamation milling plant, operated by- 
steam, was erected on it. This cost of operating the 
mining and milling plants by steam, as the only motor 
power then available with fuel at prohibitive prices, 
coupled with a low percentage of extraction in the mill 
of the values in the ore, left little or no profit. Hope 
was kept alive by prospect of cheap electric power being 
brought to the camp and by the large bodies of low- 
grade ore, which were being developed in the deep levels 
of the mine. On the advent of electric power, complete 
plants of electric motors for mine and mill were in- 
stalled, and, although the expenses for power were les- 
sened thereby, this was more than offset by the increas- 
ing baseness of the new ore-bodies developed in the deep 
levels. Finally, this new evil was overcome by the aban- 
donment of pan-amalgamation and the substitution of 
the cyanide process, which has given remarkably satis- 
factory results from the beginning. The manager, very 
naturally, feels proud of this outcome of his struggle 
with this property, since the mine has now entered the 
dividend-paying list, and the shareholders, among whom 
he is one of the largest, have expressed their confidence 
in his judgment by electing him to the Board of Di- 
rectors. 

MR. BERNARD MacDONALD. 

Mr. Bernard MacDonald, the Consulting Engineer 
of the Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Milling 
Company, began his mining career in California, in 
1874. At this time, practical experience was the only 
road to the mining profession. All lode mines were then 
operated under the direction of Cornish mine captains, 



Mr. Bernard MacDonald 251 

or miners of other nationalities who acquired all the 
mining knowledge they possessed by practical expe- 
rience, and the same was true of the milling operations. 
From 1874 till 1880, Mr. MacDonald worked in the 
various branches of practical mine work, in the lode 
mines of Grass Valley and other mining camps in Cali- 
fornia, and in the large mines on the Comstock lode, and 
elsewhere in the State of Nevada, having, previous to 
this experience in practical mining work, completed a 
course in civil engineering, as well as the practical side 
of mining and milling operations. In the year 1880 he 
went to Leadville, Colo., to take the position of Mine 
Superintendent with the Little Chief Mining Company. 
After two years in Leadville he engaged as Superin- 
tendent of the famous Lake Valley Mines of New 
Mexico. 

After spending some years in exploration of the new 
mining regions, then made accessible by the advent of 
railroads in New Mexico, and in mining on his own ac- 
count, Mr. MacDonald engaged as manager with a 
company which had undertaken the reopening of the 
famous old Santa Ana Mines of Sonora, mentioned in 
Ward's "History of Mexico." Afterwards he contin- 
ued mining in Montana, Idaho and British Columbia, 
being occupied as Manager or Consulting Engineer for 
several mining companies. In 1904 he was engaged to 
go to Guanajuato to make a study of the mines of the 
Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Milling Com- 
pany, and the metallurgical problems involved in the 
treatment of their ores. After reporting the results of 
this study he was enaged as Consulting Engineer to 
the company. The cyanide plant was designed by him 



252 Mexico's Treasure-House 

and erected under his immediate supervision. The 
work devolving on him now, by reason of this position 
with the company, occupies only a part of his time, the 
remainder being devoted to the business of the Mines 
Selection Company of Mexico, of which company he is 
President. It may not be out of place to repeat here that 
the recent sale of the Real del Monte mines at Pachuca, 
which, by the way, are perhaps by long odds the largest 
aggregation of real mines in the Republic of Mexico, 
was consummated by him, at the price and terms of an 
option obtained from the President of the company. 
The Manager and the Consulting Engineer of the Con- 
solidated Mining and Milling Company are brothers, 
and were born near Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch-Irish 
parentage. They came to the United States when young 
men, and are citizens of the latter country. 



Conclusion. 

THE great questions which investors will have to 
satisfy themselves upon, after they have been 
convinced that the ores exist in large quantities, 
are how much does it cost to mine and treat the ores, 
what are the total management expenses, and how much 
net profit remains thereafter? These questions may be 
briefly replied to as follows: Even for deep mining on 
the Mother Lode at Guanajuato, $4.50 (Mex. Cy.), 
say 9/s., per ton of ore may be accepted as a Hberal 
allowance for mining costs (apart from milling) under 
modern mining practice. The present price of stamp- 
ing the ore through a forty-mesh screen, allowing for 
all supplies, general expenses, etc., is not above $1.75 
(Mex. Cy.) per ton of ore, including the cost of con- 
centrating the pulp upon Wilfley tables. The cost of 
pan-amalgamation of the tailings has hitherto been less 
than $4 (Mex. Cy.) per ton, while the cost of cyanid- 
ing will be under $3 (Mex. Cy.) per ton. Therefore, 
a cost of $4.50 for mining and a total cost of $5 (Mex. 
Cy. = $2.50 U. S. Cy.) per ton for all milling opera- 
tions, may be accepted as a liberal estimate of cost for 
future mining and milling operations at Guanajuato. 
A total recovery of 90% of all the values of the ores is 
readily obtainable by concentration and cyaniding. 

From the 90 per cent, bullion recovered, there must 
be deducted 5 per cent, for express charges and Govern- 
ment taxes on bullion. This would leave about 85 per 

Page 253 



254 Mexico's Treasure-House 

cent, net return in bullion of the original gold and silver 
contents of the ore. Consequently, the total cost for 
mining and milling will not exceed $9.50 (Mex.) per 
ton, even in deep mining. Ore containing as low values 
as $12.50 Mexican currency ($6.25 U. S. Cy. or £l/5) 
in silver and gold per metric ton, can be successfully 
mined and treated at Guanajuato. Most of the mines 
here are treating much richer stuff than this, however, 
but it is satisfactory to know that with the enormous re- 
serves of comparatively low-grade ore available, the 
mills of Guanajuato must be kept busy for many a year 
to come and give the camp that most desirable of repu- 
tations — "permanency." 

Some of the illustrations which I give showing the 
old and wearisome methods of working the Guanajuato 
mines should prove of interest to those who are mainly 
concerned in the economy and effectiveness of modern 
methods. In place of old black powder, combined with 
hand-drilling as a means of breaking the rock in the 
mines, we have to-day the most powerful explosives and 
air-compressor rock-drills. Instead of the horse-whims, 
sometimes worked by as many as sixteen horses, we have 
the modern electric hoist, and in place of the water- 
buckets, hauled up by the slow overhead drimis, we 
find powerful pumps doing the work in a hundredth 
part of the time and at a hundredth part of the cost. 

It is estimated that the average contents of the ores 
found in the Mother Vein at Guanajuato are about 
13% grams gold to each 1,000 grams of silver. This 
means that of the combined gold and silver values of the 
Mother Lode ores, before the year 1820, the value of 
gold represented about 17 per cent, and silver 83 per 



New vs. Old Methods 255 

cent. To-day the commercial ratio of gold and silver 
values has increased the gold values in Guanajuato ores 
to about 30 per cent, and reduced the silver to 70 per 
cent. In the gold belt such as Peregrina and the mines 
of the Guanajuato Development Company, the gold is 
about 70 per cent, of the total value of the ore, thus 
affording a marked distinction from the above men- 
tioned mines. The mint records before 1820 show an 
average value of gold bullion of 3.8 per cent, of the 
total bullion value, or, with an estimated recovery of 
87% per cent, of the silver values in the patio process, 
a recovery of the gold values of the ore of about 4% 
per cent., and a consequent loss of about 12% per cent, 
of the 17 per cent, gold values of the ore. It would, 
however, be unfair to charge this loss of 75 per cent, 
of the gold values entirely to the patio process. No 
doubt the greater part of the loss was incurred through 
this process, as most of the gold, especially in the ores 
containing sulphurets which come from the lower levels 
of the mines, was lost, being carried away in the tailings, 
or possibly in solution. 

When the cyanide process was first introduced into 
the Guanajuato mines, it did not receive a very hearty 
welcome. The first mine at which experiments were 
tried was Cubo, now the property of Mr. Thomas H. 
Leggett, of New York, and others. It was found that 
while the consumption of cyanide was low, the extrac- 
tion was low also, the average being from 40 to 85 per 
cent, of the silver and the gold in the ore, the time for 
treatment allowed being about 16 hours. But for the 
intervention and strong representation of some promi- 
nent mining engineers who were interested in Guana- 



256 Mexico's Treasure-House 

juato properties and also in the MacArthur-Forrest 
process, it is doubtful whether the cyanide process of 
treatment would have found many friends in Guana- 
juato at all. Further tests took place both at Cubo and 
Sirena, the latter now being the property of the very 
successful Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Mill- 
ing Co., and with far better and more encouraging re- 
sults. Some of the tests recovered as much as 92.5 and 
94.5 per cent, of the total value of the ore, the yield 
being concentrate and bulHon. With these results be- 
fore them, then, the Guanajuato Consolidated Mining 
and Milling Co. installed their present plant with a 
capacity of approximately 200 tons per diem, and of 
which a fuller detailed description will be found in the 
earlier chapters of this book. 

Tests made by Mr. Francis J. Hobson, Chief Chem- 
ist of the MacArthur-Forrest Cyanide Co., upon some 
Valenciana ores resulted in further plants being estab- 
hshed, an 80-stamp mill at the Bustos and the cya- 
nide plant at the Hacienda de Flores being installed. In 
1904, the Cubo mine also installed a cyanide plant, and 
it is still rimning very satisfactorily. At the Peregrina 
mine from 94 to 95 per cent, of the precious metals 
have been extracted by means of the cyanide and con- 
centration plant since 1905, and another 100 stamps 
are going up at the present time with a cyanide annex. 
At the Central mill a cyanide plant is in operation, and 
another is now completed at the Nayal mill. At the 
Hacienda San Matias, belonging to Mr. Frank G. 
Peck, of the Portland Gold Mining Company of 
Cripple Creek, Colorado, who is President of the Pere- 
grina Mining and Milling Company of Guanajuato, a 



Mac Arthur-Forrest Cyanide Process 257 

cyanide plant is fast approaching completion, while a 
Mexican mine-owner named Senor Ibarbuengoitia has 
converted his patio process to cyanidation. At La Luz, 
the Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines Company 
are erecting 100 stamps on the Jesus Maria Mine, with a 
cyanide plant. Taking all the plants collectively, about 
700 tons of ore are being cyanided daily at Guanajuato, 
but in a few months' time, in all probability, this will 
have increased to some 1,400 tons per day. 

So pronounced have been the successes achieved by 
the experiments at Guanajuato upon cyanidation of 
silver on silicious ores that the process is removed en- 
tirely from the region of doubt, and is now generally 
accepted as having reached that of a certainty. It was 
proved that while the employment of extremely weak 
solutions of potassium (or sodium) cyanide was advan- 
tageous to the reduction of gold ores, it was found pre- 
judicial to silver; now, however, that stronger solu- 
tions and more time are being employed, very different 
results are being achieved. It is said that experiments 
upon a large scale have proved that even a vanner con- 
centrate, containing silver sulphide associated with py- 
rite, is amenable to profitable treatment by cyanida- 
tion. 

What threatened at one time to become a long and 
troublesome case of litigation between the Guanajuato 
mines and the local representatives of the MacArthur- 
Forrest process (the Mexican Gold and Silver Recov- 
ery Co., Limited), fortunately terminated amicably. 
Towards the beginning of this year the Guanajuato Re- 
duction and Mines Co. were sued by the agents of the 
cyanide patents for infringement, and the matter pro- 



258 Mexico's Treasure-House 

ceeded sufficiently far to secure the Bustos mill at 
Guanajuato being enjoined by the local judge, and his 
official seals being put upon the doors and cyanide vats. 
It looked as if every one of the companies using a cya- 
nide plant would join in and make common cause with 
the Reduction and Mines Co., and, but for wiser counsel 
prevailing, this would have happened. But the agents 
proving reasonable and far from vindictive, a compro- 
mise was effected, the law being undoubtedly on the side 
of the patentees and common sense on the side of the 
mining companies. 

The great uncertainties of mining are too well known 
and have been too often experienced to need much com- 
ment. In the mining district of Mexico as in all others 
which I have visited in different parts of the world, 
great surprises and intense disappointments are continu- 
ally being experienced. The most promising floors or 
chutes which even an experienced miner may deem cer- 
tain to hold out for a good area, suddenly become inter- 
rupted by sterile portions which no one could have fore- 
seen, or are diminished in their thickness or reduced in 
value. On the other hand, poor and apparently worth- 
less portions of a lode, regarded as of no value at all, 
have unexpectedly shown rich ore chutes or even "bon- 
anzas." Again and again has this proved the case 
among the Mexican mines, so that every recurring day 
has its delights as well as its delusions. 

The surest way to distribute the dangers and at the 
same time equalize the successes of mining is to distri- 
bute one's eggs through many baskets ; in other words, 
hold and work several mining properties simultaneously. 
The best method to ensure success — all-round success 



Uncertainties in Mining 259 

bien entendu — in a lode-mining country like Guanajua- 
to, for instance, is to carry on operations upon several 
independent and proved mining claims, so that at least 
one of them may be certain to flourish, while one of the 
others may be in a state of development or temporary 
falling off in returns, after having yielded a consider- 
able output. Economies in management can also be 
eiFected. This is the case with practically all the Guan- 
ajuato companies, each of which possesses several mines, 
not all contiguous either, and thus its interests are care- 
fully spread over a large area with every prospect of 
some, at least, turning out "trumps" and, not improb- 
ably, all of them in due time. 

The End. 



Index. 



Abasolo, 25 

Abundancia^ 84 

Adams, Albert J., 164 

Adams, Lawrence P., 164, 247 

Adobero, 70 

Aerometer Co., 206 

Agassiz, 221 

Agriculture, 40, 44 

Alaman, Lucas, 219j 221 

Aldama, 25 

Alhondiga, 22, 29 

Allende, 47 

Amalgamated Gold Mines Co., 

164, 176 
American Miners, 61, 63 
Andrade, Jesus, IQS 
Anglo-^Mexican Co., 84, 213, 

217, 220, 226 
Anglo-Saxon capital, 10, 211 
Aparecida, 11 9, 231 
Architecture, Spanish, 23 
Argentina Mine, 231 
Arrastres, 52 

Ascuncion de la Navarra, 84 
Avio, 65 
Avispero, 83 

B 

Bailey, Leonard O., 99 
Bajio, El, 34 
Barragana Group, 76 
Bartlett, John S., 99 
Bartolo, San 72 
Beaton, Geo. A., 90 
Blaisdell Process, 147-152 
Bolanitos Mines, 198, 199 
"Bonanza," 65 



Borde, de la, 17 

Brennon, J. C, 239 

Brickmaking, 69 

British capital, 8, 217-224 

Brown & Sharp, 212 

Bryant Dam, 137 

Bryant, George W., 90, 106, 

109, 117, 119, 120, 121, 124, 

230, 233, 234. 
Buenavista Mines Co., 231 
Buildings, public, 25 
Bustos, Francisco de, 85 
Bustos Mill, 23, 93 
Butler, John S., 82 



Cannon, R. W., 164 

Carcel, 20 

Cardonas, 72, 76 

Carmen, El, 186 

Carmen, Guanajuato, 72 

Carpenter, A. B., 127, 236 

Cata, 12, 83, 84, 85, 91, 92, 93, 

94, 186, 187, 215, 220. 
Catorce Mine, 58, 59, 218 
Cattle raising, 115, ll6 
Cayetano, San, 57 
Cedro Mine, 57, 64, 103, 107- 

111 
Cedro Mining & Milling Co., 

117 
Celaya, 47, 206 
Central Mine, 112, 117, 234 
Central Mining & Milling Co., 

117 
Central Railway, 31, 38, 48 
Churches, 63, 87 
Cogswell, C. V. R., 82 



u 



Index 



Communications, 48 

Conclusion, 253 

Consolidated Mining & Milling 

Co. See Guanajuato 
Corning, F. L., 82 
Cortez, Hernano, 129 
Costumes, peons', 71 
Cotton mills, 46 
Cox, Geo. B., 99 
Cubo Mine, 57, 180, IpO, 200, 

215 
Curtis, Leonard E., 89;, 99, 208, 

230 
Cyanide plant (G. C. M. & M. 

Co.), 73, 9S 

D 

Dam, Bryant, 137 
Del Rio, Martinez, 99 
Departments, 47 
Development Co., Guanajuato. 

See Guanajuato 
Development Co., Mineral. See 

Mineral 
Development work, 181 
Diaz, Porfirio, 25 
Divisions, 47 
Doblado, 25 

Doble, Robert McF., 208 
Dolores, Tajo de, 188-196 
Dos Estrellos, 10, 33 
Dowd, Chas. F., 99 
Dredging machinery, 126 
Duarte, Viscount de, 85 
Duero River, 202, 203 
Dump, value of, 173 
Dwight, Theodore, 154, 239 

E 
El Bajio, 34 

El Real del Monte Mines, 224 
Electrical Co., Westinghouse, 

228 
Electricity in mining, 225-228 
Electrical machinery, 136, 226 



Electric power, 90, 137, 138, 
202, 205, 206, 207, 209, 227 
Emma, 84 

Esperanza Mine, 33, 83 
Esperanza Reservoir, 26, 29 
Estrada Cecilio, 190 
Exports of metal, 13 
Extravagance in mining, 213 

F 

Feast days, 6S 

Filley, H. H., 208 

Finances : 

G. Redu. & Mines Co., 97, 98 
Cons. M. & M. Co., 81 
Peregrina M. & M. Co., 129 
Guan. Dev. Co., 105 
Mineral Dev. Co., 153 

Financial News, The, 12 

Flora, 40 

Flour mills, 46 

Food of peons, 70 

Fruits, 40 

Furness, Dwight, 64, 243-246 



"Gigante," 34 
Godoy, Manuel, 156, 157 
Gold production, 49, 50 
Gonzalez, Joaquin Obregon, 190, 

229, 230 
Gorda, Sierra, 47 
Governor of Guanajuato, 229, 

230 
Granaditas, 20 
Griscom, Clement A., 99 
Guadalupe M. & M. Co., 231 
Guanajuato: 

Consolidated Mining & Mill- 
ing Co., 57, 72-82, 86, 186, 
224, 256 

Development Co., 40, 100, 
101, 107, 109, 111, 112,231 

Foundation of, 15 



Index 



111 



Governor of, 229 

Power & Electric Co., 90, 137, 

201-210 
Pronunciation of, 18 
Reduction & Mines Co., 57, 

97-99, 238, 258 
River Gold M. Co., 123, 124, 

236 
Sierra of, 34, 35 
Situation of, 17 

H 

Hacienda de Flores, 9>5Q 

Haciendas, 126 

Hamill, S. M., 99 

Hammond, John Hays, 16 

Harris, E., 164, 248 

Hidalgo, 21, 25, 29, 31, S6 

Hill of Frogs, 19 

Hill, R. T., 90 

Hine, Henry, 99, 208, 230 . 

Hobson, F. J., 91, 122, 128, 237, 

House rents, SO 

Humboldt, Baron von, 58, 212 



Imports and exports, 45, 46 
Independencia, 84 
Industrial establishments, 46 
Inundation, 37, 38, 39 
Irapuato, S5, 202, 206 



Jalisco, 33, 116 

Jardin de la Union, 24 

Jardin, Plaza, 26 

Jesus Maria, 165, 166, 167, 169, 

170, 215 
Juarez, Benito, 25 
Juarez, Teatro, 24 

K 

Karsch, George, 164 



Kincaid MiUs, 137 
Kurtz, C. L., 90, 99 



Labor, 61-66 

Laja, 34, 35 

La Loca, 189 

La Luz, 15, 84, 89, 163, 164 

La Luz Mines, 167-169, 197 

La Luz Mines Co., 197, 231 

La Planta, 154 

La Presa, 29 

La Sorda, 154, 162 

La Torre, 159-162 

La Union Tunnel, 161,162 

La Union y Constancia, 185-188 

Leggett, T. H., 190 

Leon, 48, 202 

Lerma, 34, 35 

Lepanto Mine, 231 

Limantour, J. Y., 49 j 

Living, cost of, 30 

Locke Mfg. Co., 206 

Loreto, 84 

Lydecker, Major C. E., 154 

M 

MacArthur-Forrest Process, 200, 

256, 257 
MacDonald, B., 82, 224, 250, 

251, 252 
MacDonald, M. E., 82, 224, 249 
McElhiney, Geo. W., 89, 90, 

102-106, 117, 119, 120, 124, 
Maguey, El, 83 
Main, Chas. T., 208 
Manon Vein, 156 
Maravillas, 83 
Marfil, 17, 29, 31, 38, 48 
Matilde Mine, 231 

125, 230, 232, 233 
Mejiamora, 84 
Mellado, 12, 15, 83, 187 
Metal, exports of, 13 



IV 



Index 



Mexiamara^ 182 

Mexican Cons. & Eng, Co., 39 

Mexican Gold & Silver Recovery 

Co., 237, 257 
Mexican Securities Co., 231 
MiUer, H. H., 154 
Milling process: 

G. C. M. & M. Co., 72, 73, 80 

Peregrina, 140-1 45 
Mills: 

Cotton, 46 

Woolen, 46 

Flour, 46 
Miner, American, 61-63 
Mineral Development Co., 153- 

162 
Mines Selection Co., 223, 224 
Mining and agriculture, 41 
Mining camps, 55, 5Q 
Mining, uncertainties in, 258, 

259 
Mother Vein, 11, 15, 59, 72-77, 

88-90, 108, 119-121, 154, 159, 

160, 254 
Mountains, 34, 
Mozo, The, 6Q 
Mulford, R., 85 
National Mine, 55 

N 

National Railway Lines, 49 

Navidad Mines, 231 

Nayal Milling Co., 117 

Nayal Mine, 57 

Nopal Mine, 157, 158 

Noria Alta Mine, 57 

Norris, R. V. 154 

Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato, 

84 
Nueva Luz Mine, 155-158 



OUa, La, 38 

Ores, Guanajuato, 253, 254 

Organization and Staff, 117 



Pabellon Mine, 184 

Pan- Amalgamation, 55 

Panteon, 22 

Parker, Leroy, 99 

Pastita, 29 

Patio process, 51-54 

Peck, Frank G., 121-123, 235, 

236 
Peons, 67-70 
Peons' food, 70 
Peregrina Mine, 57, 117, 118, 

127-139, 255, 256 
Peregrina Min. & Mill. Co., 127, 

129 
Peregrina Stamp Mill, 140 
Pinguico Mine, 57, 103-107 
Pinguico Min. & Mill. Co., 117, 

118 
Plateros, 84, 167, 1 68, 171 
Plaza, Jardin, 26 
Portland Gold Mining Co., 235 
Power & Electric Co., The, 90, 

137, 202, 206, 207, 209, 210 
Power, lack of cheap, 89 
Power plant (G. C. M. & M. 

Co.), 73 
Preface, 7-14 
Press Comments on Work by 

same Author, vii-ix 
Priests and peons, 68 
Productions, 10-12, 59, 84, 107, 

113, 146, 154, 155, 157, 160, 

161, 167, 169, 179, 183, 196 
Promontorio, 187 
Purisima del Cedro, 187 
Purisima Tunnel, 77 



Obregon, 17, 85, 87 
Obrero del Porvenir, 84 



Queretaro, 33 



Index 



Railway, Central, 31, 38, 48 
Railways, 31, 45, 48, 49 
Rain, S6 

Ramsden, Percy H., 238 
Rayas, 12, 17, 83, 85, 86, 214, 

215 
Rayas, Marquis de, 85, 214 
Reduction & Mines Co., 57, 83- 

84, 89, 97-99, 231, 258 
Refugio Mine, 57, 197, 198 
Regie Mine, 231 
Residences, 26 
Revolution, S6, 88, 221 
Rhodes, Cecil, 8, 16 
River Dredging & G. M. Co., 

123, 124 
Rivers, 34, 35 
Robles, Carlos, 99 
Rosario, 84 

Rowe, Norman, 248, 249 
Rul estate, 84 
Rul family, 88 
Ryan, Edwin P., 246, 247 
Salamanca, 32 
San Bartolo, 72 
San Cayetano, 57, 178-180, 183, 

184, 214, 215 
San Felipe, 34 
San Francisco de Pili, 84 
San Gregorio, 32 

S 

San Isidro Ranch, 103, 114-116 

San Isidro Dam, 115 

San Jorge Mine, 231 

San Judas, 34 

San Luis Potosi, 33 

San Matias Mill, 122 

San Miguel el Grande, 26 

San Pedro Gilmonea, 84 

San Prospero, 57, 121-123, 148, 

228 
San Rafael, 55, 215 



San Vicente, 72, 76 

Santa Inez, 158 

Santa Nino, 84 

Santa Rosa, 76 

Santiago, 34 

Saturday Night Club, 27 

Secho, 84, 215 

Securities Corporation, Ltd., 

101-103, 117, 231 
Sherrod, V. B., 248 
Sierra de Guanajuato, 34, 35 
Sierra Gorda, 48 
Sirena, 15, 72, 74, 75, 76, 218, 

220 
Smith, John F., 164 
Social Life, 27 
Springtime, 40 
Stamp Mill, Peregrina, 140 
Stamp Mills (G. C. M. & M. 

Co.), 73, 76, 77, 79 
Stamps, Number of, 57 
State of Guanajuato, 33 
States of Republic, 33 
Stealing tools, 67, 68 
Stehr, F. W., 99 
Struthers, Dr. Joseph, 154 



Tailings, 123 

Tajo de Dolores, 188-196 

Tasco Mine, 17 

Taylor, Jr., L. H., 154 

Teatro Juarez, 24 

Tejada, Lerdo de, 229 

Telephone, SO 

Tepayac, 15, 84, 92, 187, 214, 

215, 220 
"Through Five Republics of 

South America, i 
Timber, 40 
Todos Santos, 84 
Topographical features, 33 
Torta, 52 
Tortillas, 70 



VI 



Index 



Trade, 45 

Tramway Co., 29 

Transmission line, 206 

Tunnel, 39 

Tunnel, San Cayetano, 178 

Turbine generators, 205 

Turbio, 34 

Turner, Martin F., 99 

U 

Uncertainties in mining, 

259 
Union, La, 84 
United Mexican Co., 84, 
181, 211, 214, 215, 218, 
■ 222 

V 

Valenciana, 12, 17, 23, 83, 
158, 214, 220, 221 

Van Doren, J. E., 154 

Van Law, C. W., 90, 99, 
243 

Veta Madre, 11, 72, 75-77, 
186, 214 



Victoria Mine, 117, 120, 121, 

231 
Villalpando, 214, 220 
Virdon, Mr., 154 

W 

Wages, 61, 62 
Ward, H. G., 41-44 
War of Independence, 28, 29, 
2^g 31, 36, 191 

' Water supply, 115 

Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg Co., 
,„Q 228, 248 

gjq' Whitney, J. P., 154 

' Wiley, Capt. W. M., 154, 241, 
242 

155, Y 

Yeatman, Pope, 99 
242, 2 

108, Zacatecas, 214 

Zamora, City of, 202 



Work by the Same Author vii 

WORK BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 

"Through Five Republics (of South America) 1905." 
500 pp.; 96 illustrations; 3 maps; Price 21 /s. ($5.25 U. S. Cy.). 
(London: W. Heinemann; 20-21 Bedford St., Covent Garden.) 

"Nothing escapes his critical pen. . . . We can cordially praise his 
industry and catholicity of interests." 

"Illustrated London News," Feb. 23, '06. 

"The book is a valuable book and a conscientious book. We look 
forward to Mr. Martin's promised story of Juan Fernandez." 

"Manchester Guardian," Dec. 21, 1905. 

"It is evidently a painstaking and laborious production, and mer- 
its the most appreciative consideration." 

"South American Journal," Nov. 25, 1905. 

"Mr. Martin's last book 'Through Five Republics of South Amer- 
ica' had a heavy sale." "The Mexican Herald," Jan. 11, 1905. 

"Mr. Martin deserves congratulations on publishing a book which 
he alone, probably, was qualified to write." 

"The Sheffield Daily Telegraph," Nov. 29, 1905. 

"Mr. Martin is a very competent writer on commercial and finan- 
cial matters. His book (upon Mexico) will undoubtedly attract 
great attention here." "The Mexican Herald," April 3, 1906. 

"We would commend this excellent book to the attention of our 
readers. It can be consulted with confidence by all interested in that 
part of the world with which the author deals." 

"The Field," Jan. 20, I906. 

"We hope that its success may induce him to take the pen in his 
hand again. The work is extremely interesting and should greatly 
enhance the reputation of its author." 

"The Mining World," Dec. 30, 1905. 

"Mr. Martin is highly recommended by prominent people of 
England and Mexico, including President Diaz, and his report 
upon Guanajuato promises to be the most complete and authoritative 
that the district has had for years." 

"The Jalisco Times," April 6, 1906. 

"A book which will be found of some value by commercial men 
and possibly by politicians. It may be read together with the more 
historical volumes Mr. Martin writes with knowledge of par- 
ticular cases and carries more weight than do more general critics." 

"The Athenaeum," Dec. 2, 1905. 



viii Work by the Same Author 



"A most interesting book on the present condition of South Am- 
erica is "Through Five Republics/' to which I am referring else- 
where, by Percy F. Martin, F, R. G. S. The book is filled with 
useful and at the same time readable information." 

"T. P/s Weekly," Jan. 5, 19O6. 

"Mr. Martin's book carries all the conviction of candor, for the 

author does not hesitate to blame as well as praise No serious 

student will find fault with a record which so overwhelmingly out- 
weighs blame with praise and which so strikingly opens up a 
wonderful vista of progress and of industrial opportunity." 

"The World's Work," Nov., 1905. 

"A sturdy and substantial volume of over five hundred pages full 
of hard information, picturesque notes and descriptions, chapters 
on international politics and social evolution, the railways and traffic 
and trade of that strange continent where they seem as ready for a 
revolution as a bull-fight whenever there is an afternoon to spare . . . 
A good many must come and go before this book ceases to be a ser- 
viceable and interesting mine of information regarding South Am- 
erica and its present stage of progress." 

"The Pall Mall Gazette," Feb. 24, 19O6. 

"Certainly no one can accuse Mr. Martin of painting too glowing 
pictures of the Republic he visited. He pitilessly describes the bru- 
tality and hideous folly of the revolutions which so often disgrace 

some of these Republics The letters which appeared in our 

columns in the first half of the year have already familiarized our 
readers with Mr. ISIartin's fluent pen, and will have shown how well 

qualified he is to give his impressions on other industrial and social 

aspects of these States." "The Railrvay Nervs," Dec. 2, 1905. 

"Mr. Percy F. Martin, F. R. G. S., has been travelling to good 
purpose throughout the South American Republics. His book is 
written with scientific accuracy of statement, and also in a pleasant 
flowing style that makes it both interesting and easy reading. It may 
be regarded as a standard work of reference. . . . The author may be 
accepted as a trustworthy guide He presents valuable infor- 
mation The author goes into commercial statistics at con- 
siderable length in this noteworthy work, and he throws out some 
suggestions for remodelling and reviewing the work of the British 
consuls and vice-consuls in the difi"erent Republics." 

"The Sydney Daily Telegraph," Jan. 27, 1906. 

"Will be exceedingly useful to people who are thinking of making 
investments in that Continent. Mr. Martin is a keen critic of busi- 
ness undertakings, and has extensive stores of information to im- 



Work by the Same Author ix 

part on such subjects as railways, minerals and agricultural pros- 
pects Particularly valuable as a guide to the way in 

which British capital has been, and may with advantage continue to 
be, invested. As regards the railways of the five Republics, one 
could not hope for a more thorough and precise account of their con- 
dition and prospects." "The Morning Leader," March 6, 1906. 

"What is most important to record is that the contents are at once 
informing and interesting. Mr. Martin has not made up his sub- 
ject; he knows it from the inside, and he has been able to vary his 
pages with side-lights on social matters with authoritative particulars 
relating to economic questions and occasional criticism of political 

affairs Reform is urgently needed in this matter (the British 

Consular Service) and it is well that Mr. Martin should laave drawn 
attention to it in its relations to that particular quarter of the globe 
from which, during the present century, the largest commercial de- 
velopments may be looked for." 

"The Morning Post," Jan, 11, 1906. 

"The value of the book is much increased by the up-to-date charac- 
ter of much of the information, some of the statistics coming down 
to the past summer. One can find all that one wants to know or what 
Mr. Martin thinks about the railway systems, the financial status, 
and the commercial prospects of the various countries, and a very 
readable list has the advantage of interpretation by a large number 
of excellent illustrations. The net result to the general reader is an 
entertaining useful volume, and there certainly does not exist a work 
which presents in so comprehensive a form the latest political and 
commercial information of the leading countries of South America." 
"The Financial Times," Nov. 21. 1905. 

"Mr. Martin's qualifications for so large a book are unquestion- 
able. The author, as our own columns have from time to time testi- 
fied, in recent years, is an indefatigable pioneer of commerce. His 
experiences have hitherto been embodied in newspaper articles solely, 
and he is to be congratulated upon his decision to bring together in 
more permanent form the results of his three years investigations in 

South America Altogther it would be difficult to overestimate 

the value of this volume as an aid to the development of our com- 
mercial interests in the regions dealt with, and it may be hoped that 
it will be appreciated as fully as it deserves by our merchants and 
manufacturers." "The Glasgow Herald," December 3, 1905. 



y\ 



LHJe'OT 



